Burnley boost survival hopes with Brentford win as Luton snatch draw with Forest
Burnley kept their faint Premier League survival hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Brentford at Turf Moor.
Brentford had to play most of the match with 10 men after Sergio Reguilon was sent off with just nine minutes on the clock for a push on Vitinho inside the penalty area.
Following the fastest red card of the Premier League season, Burnley took the lead from the resulting spot-kick as Jacob Bruun Larsen converted from 12 yards.
Burnley looked to have sealed their first win in 2024 and first since a 2-0 victory over Fulham in December when David Datro Fofana slotted past Mark Flekken from inside the box to make it 2-0 but they were made to sweat for the points when Kristoffer Ajer pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute with a smart header.
Brentford thought they had snatched an equaliser at the death when Shandon Baptiste’s cross ended up in the net but referee Darren Bond blew for a foul on keeper Arijanet Muric as Vincent Kompany’s side hung on to move within eight points of safety.
In another crucial game in the relegation battle, Luke Berry scored a late equaliser to earn Luton a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.
Forest hit the front in the 34th minute after Morgan Gibbs-White floated a cross to the onrushing Chris Wood who volleyed home from close range.
Luton looked to have equalised before the break when Teden Mengi bundled home but referee Darren England cut celebrations short after the ball hit the defender’s arm in the process.
Forest had chances to put the game to bed and came close to a second when Anthony Elanga had an effort cleared off the line.
The Hatters struck in the 89th minute to secure a valuable point when Berry poked home from Reece Burke’s nod down inside the box to prevent Forest pulling away from the bottom three and keep the gap at three points.
Tottenham’s hopes of finishing in the top four suffered a blow as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Rodrigo Muniz’s hot streak in front of goal continued when he scored the opener three minutes before the break with a cool finish from Antonee Robinson’s cross.
Fulham doubled their lead right after the break through Sasa Lukic and Muniz was on target again after the hour mark to take his tally to seven goals in seven games, while sealing Fulham’s third win in four matches.