Ivan Toney marked his return from an eight-month ban with a goal as Brentford beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at Gtech Community Stadium.
The centre-forward, whose last Bees appearance came at Liverpool on 6 May, netted a clever free-kick to equalise for his side after Danilo put Forest ahead inside five minutes.
Ben Mee headed home to put the west Londoners ahead in the second half, before Chris Wood did the same thing to level for the visitors on 65 minutes.
But an incredible spin and volley from Neal Maupay settled the game, as the Bees won for the first time since 2 December.
Toney's free-kick cancels out Danilo's early opener
Thomas Frank made three changes following Brentford's 3-2 extra-time defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night: Mark Flekken, Ethan Pinnock and Toney came in for Thomas Strakosha, Kristoffer Ajer and Josh Dasilva.
Nottingham Forest made two changes from their FA Cup replay win over Blackpool, which also went to extra time. Odysseas Vlachodimos was replaced by Matt Turner in goal, and Neco Williams came out for Gonzalo Montiel at right-back.
With just three minutes on the clock, Forest were ahead. Vitaly Janelt and Mee both attempted to clear but, as the ball dropped to Danilo on the edge of the area, the midfielder took a touch and volleyed into the back of the net, just like he did at Gtech Community Stadium last season.
The Bees pushed for an equaliser but struggled to break down the visitors' low block. Janelt had a volley from outside the area clear the crossbar, before Ben Mee tried his luck from a similar range, which was blocked by an opposition defender.
But a brilliant run through the Forest backline from Mikkel Damsgard won a free-kick on the very edge of the penalty area - and there was only one man that was going to take it, with 20 minutes on the clock. Toney stepped up, curled the ball around the wall and into the bottom corner, before going over to his boss to celebrate.
And the hosts were so close to taking the lead when Toney hooked Mathias Jensen's deep corner back across goal. Janelt touched the ball on to Keane Lewis-Potter, whose effort rattled the crossbar, bounced down on to the line, and was eventually cleared.
It was back and forth for the remainder of the first half, with both sides having spells of possession. There was one final chance for the Bees to go ahead before the break, as a quick throw-in fed Toney, who played in Damsgaard, but Jensen's effort inside the six-yard box was blocked by Matt Turner and subsequently cleared.
Mee and Maupay on target as Bees claim much-needed win
Toney turned creator at the start of the second half, as he whipped a delicious delivery towards the back post. Lewis-Potter got on the end of it, but his effort went straight to Turner, who collected the ball with relative ease.
Lewis-Potter had another effort just a few minutes later, when another cross came into the box - this time from Mads Roerslev, after a smart move involving Toney down the right channel - but Lewis-Potter got his shot all wrong and it went wide of the post.
But, with the game closing in on the hour mark, Mee headed home the Bees' second. A whipped corner to the near post from Jensen was met by the former Burnley man, and he thumped it into the back of the net with his head.
But it was 2-2 soon after when Chris Wood glanced beyond Mark Flekken and into the far corner. Some smart play from Danilo saw him work the ball out to Callum Hudson-Odoi, who bent a ball into the New Zealand international, and his clever run between the centre-backs saw him in space to head home.
An entertaining second half continued when Maupay put the home side ahead again.
Toney sprayed a lovely ball out to Roerslev, who crossed into Maupay, before the Frenchman controlled, spun and superbly volleyed into the bottom corner. There was a VAR check to see if the striker had handled the ball in the build-up, but he hadn't and the goal was given.
Brentford: Flekken, Collins, Pinnock, Mee, Roerslev (Ajer 90), Janelt, Jensen (Yarmoliuk 90+7), Damsgaard (Baptiste 74), Lewis-Potter (Dasilva 90), Toney, Maupay (Reguilón 74)
Subs not used: Strakosha, Zanka, Peart-Harris, Olakigbe
Nottingham Forest: Turner, Montiel (Aguilera 86), Omobamidele, Murillo, Tavares, Mangala, Danilo, Yates (Williams 62), Domínguez, Wood, Hudson-Odoi
Subs not used: Vlachodimos, Toffolo, Worrall, McKenna, McDonnell, Osong, Gardner
Attendance: 17,077
Thomas Frank: It was good to see Toney enjoying his football
Thomas Frank hailed Ivan Toney following Brentford’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
“You always have a relationship with your players,” said Frank. “For all the players in the squad, I just want the best for them.
“Of course, Ivan is a big player and a big part of it, and of course we missed him.
“It was good to have him back, and I told him that. It was good to see him enjoying playing football.”
The Bees boss added: “No one can do anything on their own in life; if you want to achieve something big, you can’t go alone. Ivan is an eleventh of the team and if the 10 others are not performing, it doesn’t help. We need them all to perform together.
“Another one to highlight is Neal Maupay; the way he took his winning goal was very good. And the way he has come into the club is fantastic. We know what he is capable of, but five goals and three assists is impressive.
“It’s clear that [Toney and Maupay] have got an eye for each other and they connect well. I like it.”
Ivan Toney: That felt very good
Ivan Toney said he knew he had to "put on a show" against Nottingham Forest - which he did as he scored the Bees' opening goal in the 3-2 victory.
And the centre-forward discussed his return and his goal after the win at Gtech Community Stadium.
“That felt good, that felt very good. Hearing the fans screaming, just back on the pitch, scoring goals, winning games, it felt very good,” he said.
“I always believed we had enough in the changing room to win today. They are a great side but the boys dug deep and I think we deserved it in the end.
“A lot of people messaged me before the game but [the attention] is what it is, you’ve then just got to perform. You can’t let the nerves get to you, you’ve got to perform, people are here to watch you and you’ve got to put a show on - hopefully I did that.”
On his first-half goal, he added: “The feeling, the big moment, I always knew I was going to hit the target and I did that; if I did that, I was going to have a chance to score. In the end, I gave the keeper no chance so it was good.”