LONDON -- Marco Silva has admitted Fulham goalscorer Raúl Jiménez "needed a goal" after his record-breaking penalty gave Fulham all three points at home to Nottingham Forest on Monday night.
Jimenez's struggles since a devastating head injury while at Wolves in 2020 have been well-documented but the Mexican striker has appeared to turn a corner at Fulham and recorded history against Forest.
His penalty saw him go joint-top in 100% penalty conversion rates in Premier League history, with 11 from 11 alongside Yaya Toure.
"[He's] crucial, he's a great penalty taker and not just in a Fulham shirt," Silva told a news conference.
"The calmness, the quality, the braveness to go until the last moment and of course when the goalkeeper doesn't move of course its the moment for him to be very assertive in the way he's going to take, he's a great taker and very reliable.
"He needed a goal, he's not in his best in terms of confidence but the reality is that the last four games at home he's scored twice and both goals have given us the win."
The win leaves Fulham just six points off the top four heading into Christmas but Silva wasn't getting carried away when asked if his side can dare to dream.
"It depends the way you want to look [at] it," he said.
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"Myself and we always look for the next game, we don't get in panic if we are in a different position or over the moon when, now look you are six points [away from top 4].
"We know what we are capable to do but we are realistic aswell, to be realistic doesn't mean you are not ambitious, we are very ambitious, I'm the first one to create the ambition around all the players, fans and staff.
"It was a massive win for us, missing five key players ... But the reality is that the team responded very well against a side of top quality with the money they spent, playing Europa League, a great win for us."