LONDON — Fulham climbed away from the Premier League relegation zone and left Nottingham Forest mired in the fight for survival after Raul Jimenez’s penalty sealed a 1-0 win on Monday.

Marco Silva’s side started the day just two points above fourth-bottom Forest, but Jimenez’s first-half goal at Craven Cottage moved them 10 points clear of the bottom three.

While Fulham’s relegation fears were eased heading into the Christmas schedule, Forest are just five points ahead of third-bottom West Ham in the scrap to avoid crashing into the Championship.

Forest had won six of their previous eight games in all competitions, with last weekend’s 3-0 victory over Tottenham seen as a sign of their improvement under new boss Sean Dyche.

But Fulham punctured Forest’s positivity as they bounced back from their midweek League Cup quarter-final loss at Newcastle.