Joachim Andersen says Fulham’s late fightback against Brentford has given the squad a ‘huge boost’ as he prepares to return to Crystal Palace with the Whites on Saturday.

The Danish defender, who made 104 appearances in three years at Selhurst Park before rejoining the Cottagers in a £30m move in August, believes Harry Wilson’s stunning stoppage-time brace against the Bees has given Marco Silva’s side a serious shot in the arm ahead of a second London derby in five days.

Andersen told FFCTV:

“It was unbelievable. I think it was a top performance from all the guys, from the team and everyone who came on the pitch. The whole ninety minutes it was maybe our best performance of the season. To have so much pressure on the opponent is not something that’s really common in the Premier League, so that’s a huge performance. We could have created a more clear cut chances but that will come if we continue to play like this.

It will give us a huge boost and a lot of confidence for everyone. Wins always give you confidence and the way we did it as well [was special]. Hopefully, we can take that into the next season.”

The 28 year-old is eager to return to his old stomping ground with the Whites:

“It is going to be a little bit a strange I think, but I am really looking forward to it. I had an amazing time there over three years, some of my good friends [are there] and I have huge respect for them. I’m looking forward to it, but it is another game and it’s a game we need to win – so hopefully we can do it. I feel like I left on good terms so I don’t think they will have some issues we me.

We had an amazing end to the last season [at Crystal Palace], but in the Premier League because you win a few games last season, it doesn’t mean you will take that into the new season. They lost a few important players [in the summer], there are new dynamics in the team. It’s never easy to win a game and there are such small margins in the game, it’s about putting in the work every week to get those margins on their side. In the last few weeks, I’m not sure what their organisation has been or what their mentality is like, but when I see the games, they’ve been good games but they haven’t been able to put the ball in the net and that’s quite important in football.

Andersen is relishing the opportunity of trying to keep Jean-Philippe Mateta quiet.

“JP is a really good footballer and one of my good friends. I speak to him quite often, so I look forward to meeting him and playing against him. We’ve had many tough battles in training over the years. It will be hard, he’s in some form and he’s finally showing what he’s really capable of. I’m just really happy for him because he’s a top professional and a top player.”

The centre back feels that another win would be the perfect win to demonstrate Fulham’s progress ahead of the forthcoming international break.

“That would be huge for us because we probably deserved a bit more points [this season]. If we could take six points from these two games, that would be really, really good for us to go into the international break a little bit higher in the table. There’s a lot of good opportunities [ahead] for us.”