Ten-man Fulham edged a thrilling West London derby - just - after a 3-2 win over local rivals Queens Park Rangers.

The Whites, who went into the game with just two defeats in 2013, took the lead through Dimitar Berbatov’s penalty, before the Bulgarian made it 2-0 after a horrendous error from Christopher Samba. Clint Hill then turned the ball into his own net but Rangers pulled one back just before the break when Adel Taarabt fired home.

That goal sparked Rangers into life and early in the second half, they were awarded a penalty of their own when Giorgos Karagounis caught Taarabt. Loic Remy saw his spot-kick brilliantly saved by Mark Schwarzer but the Rangers striker was to save face a couple of minutes later when he raced clear to score.

Steve Sidwell was then shown a straight red card for a late lunge on Armand Traore but Fulham held on to secure the three points and the bragging rights over their struggling neighbours from Loftus Road, who remain deep in relegation trouble.

Martin Jol named an unchanged starting XI for the fourth successive game as Bryan Ruiz passed a late fitness test on a slight hamstring strain suffered on international duty with Costa Rica. QPR made two changes from the side that lost 3-2 at Aston Villa, with Traore and Taarabt coming into their starting line-up. Former Whites striker Bobby Zamora made his first return to the Cottage since his switch to Loftus Road in January 2012.

On a chilly April night in SW6, Rangers fashioned the opening shot of the match in the fifth minute but Stephane Mbia’s speculative effort from 30 yards was easily held by Schwarzer.

At the other end, Damien Duff cut inside from the left and saw his right-footed shot parried away by Julio Cesar. But Rangers failed to clear the danger and they were punished when the Whites won a penalty after Samba clipped Ashkan Dejagah in the box. The towering defender had initially done well to win the ball from Berbatov as a Sascha Riether cross came in, but he failed to spot Dejagah sneaking in behind and clipped the ankle of the Iranian. Referee Lee Probert immediately pointed to the spot and Berbatov made no mistake, slotting home nonchalantly from 12 yards for his fourth goal in successive games.

R’s captain Hill went into the book on 13 minutes for a late tackle on Karagounis and from the resulting free-kick, Ruiz bent his set-piece five yards wide of the near post. Five minutes later, Dejagah won a free-kick off Hill and Duff’s clipped delivery went inches wide off the back of Samba.

But it was 2-0 to Fulham on 22 minutes. Again Samba was the culprit for QPR when, under pressure from Duff, he sloppily gave the ball straight to Berbatov. The Bulgarian did the rest, skipping into space before firing past the Rangers goalkeeper.

Rangers finally mustered a foray forward two minutes later and could arguably have reduced the scoreline when Traore’s cross was nodded into the path of Zamora by Remy. The ex-Whites hitman swivelled but hit his half-volley high and wide from seven yards out.

On 37 minutes, Andros Townsend fired a shot six yards outside Schwarzer’s left-hand post, before Fulham were forced into an early change when Dejagah was replaced by Urby Emanuelson after being caught by Traore.

But that was soon forgotten as Fulham made it 3-0. After some slick football, the ball was eventually worked out to Duff on the left. He played a quick pass to Brede Hangeland, who was making a rare run in the opposition box, and the skipper’s flick played in the overlapping Riise. The Norwegian whipped in a cross from the byline which Hill could only turn into his own net.

Rangers pulled one back a minute before the break. A slip from Karagounis presented the ball to Taarabt. The former Tottenham Hotspur man, who scored twice against the Whites in Rangers’ 2-1 win at Loftus Road in December, still had a lot to do but ran at speed at Hangeland and saw his shot from the edge of the box fizz into the far corner via the fingertips of Schwarzer.

Rangers, who replaced captain Hill with Nedum Onuoha at the break, tried to take the initiative immediately after the restart and Remy saw a shot deflected just wide.

And, two minutes later, Rangers earned a spot-kick of their own when Taarabt’s fancy footwork committed Karagounis into a tackle on the edge of the box which saw him catch the Moroccan. Thankfully for Fulham, Schwarzer dived to his left to make a superb one-handed stop from Remy.

However, the Frenchman made amends on 51 minutes, beating the offside trap, racing away from Philippe Senderos and smashing a shot beyond Schwarzer and off the underside of the bar to change the complexion of the game.

Fulham were suddenly hanging on and Townsend’s long-range drive was beaten away by Schwarzer, before Samba scuffed a shot wide after controlling a deep cross into the box.

Rangers made their second change of the game on 74 minutes, with Taarabt being replaced by Junior Hoilett. Fulham hearts were in mouths two minutes later when Ruiz was caught in possession by Mbia, who played in Remy. He twisted past Senderos but shanked his effort wide. Moments later, Zamora forced Schwarzer to superbly palm the ball round the post.

A crazy game took another twist on 78 minutes when Sidwell was shown a straight red card for a late tackle on Traore. The midfielder’s heavy touch had seen him stretch for the ball and he couldn’t put on the breaks as he attempted to win back possession. Fulham immediately made a change, with the more defence-minded Emmanuel Frimpong replacing Emanuelson.

QPR then made their final substitution of the game, with Jamie Mackie coming on for Traore, before Jenas curled a shot a few yards wide of Schwarzer’s far post. Riether was booked on 89 minutes for taking too long to take a throw-in and Senderos was also cautioned for time-wasting as the match entered added time.

Karagounis saw a late penalty shout turned down in the final action of a pulsating match as Fulham hung on for a win which edges them to within a point of ninth-placed Swansea City with a game in hand.