Fulham showed their aerial dominance as two headed goals helped them secure a 2-1 win over Premier League top-four contenders Nottingham Forest.

Chris Wood netted his 18th goal of the season at Craven Cottage but it was not enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as headers from Emile Smith Rowe and Calvin Bassey allowed Manchester City and Bournemouth to close the gap on Forest in third.

It was a third successive victory in all competitions for Fulham following back-to-back wins against Newcastle in the league and Wigan in the FA Cup last Saturday.

Marco Silva opted to start Adama Traore on the right and the decision was nearly repaid in the 12th minute when his looped cross to the head of Raul Jimenez went narrowly wide of the bottom left corner as Forest’s poor marking went unpunished.

Shortly afterwards, the winger was involved in another move which this time saw Fulham rewarded for their quick start.

A series of precise passing saw the hosts beat Forest’s press and, after Traore received the ball out wide, he used the inside of his weaker left foot to curve a cross to the surging Smith Rowe, who nodded past Matz Sels from inside the six-yard area.

The opener, which was a team goal that saw goalkeeper Bernd Leno play a part in the build-up, highlighted the gulf in class between the two sides with Forest hardly getting a touch on the ball in the final third.

Nuno’s men beat Brighton 7-0 in their last league match, but sloppy passes in the midfield and a willingness to sit deep with their back five invited more pressure as they struggled to replicate that performance.

This meant Fulham continued to barrage the goal, with Sels forced to tip Jimenez’s creative outside-of-the-boot shot wide in the 30th minute.

Despite being second best, Wood demonstrated his physical qualities as he showed incredible strength and composure to dig Forest out of danger with an unexpected leveller in the 37th minute.

It started through playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White, who alleviated some of Forest’s pressure by sending a long ball to Wood in a bid to spark the visitors into life.

And typical of the 33-year-old’s stunning season, he used his frame to bully Bassey and Antonee Robinson in the duel, giving him time to pause, cut inside onto his left and find the bottom left corner with deadly accuracy.

But the scores did not remain level for long as after the break Bassey, who should have done better for Forest’s equaliser, redeemed himself with a goal of his own as Fulham’s aerial superiority was on show again to unlock Forest’s backline.

A curved corner was flicked on nicely by Jimenez into the path of the well-positioned Bassey at the back post and he managed to breach the reliable gloves of Sels from yards out with a simple headed finish.

The experienced 36-year-old Willian, who rejoined the Cottagers on a free earlier this month, marked his return with some minutes off the bench as Fulham secured all three points.