Nottingham Forest player ratings - duo stand out as Reds claim massive win over Spurs
Latest Nottingham Forest verdict as Vitor Pereira's Reds beat Spurs 3-0 in huge clash in the capital
Nottingham Forest boosted their survival hopes as goals from Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi clinched a big 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Reds made the trip south with spirits high after progressing to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in midweek. But there was no getting away from the importance of this six-pointer in the capital, with both clubs battling for Premier League survival.
Vitor Pereira’s side enjoyed plenty of possession in the early stages as they looked to kill the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They couldn’t quite make the most of their bright start, though, and their opponents grew into the game.
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Chances began to rack up for Spurs, with Ibrahim Sangare blocking a shot from Mathys Tel, before Richarlison headed wide from a corner. In fact, Forest almost did their hosts’ hard work for them when Igor Jesus headed onto his own woodwork from a long throw.
As the midway point of the half approached, the Reds survived a penalty appeal when Pepe Matar Sarr went down under the challenge of Ola Aina. It was becoming all Spurs, with an effort from Omari Hutchinson straight at Guglielmo Vicario as close as Forest got.
All of that changed on the stroke of half-time, though. Jesus had an acrobatic swipe flicked over by Vicario then headed in from the resulting corner to give his team the lead.
Matz Sels ensured it remained 1-0 to the visitors at the break when he got a hand to a fierce Tel strike. But there was still time for another penalty scare, this time for Neco Williams, when VAR checked and cleared his challenge on Cristian Romero.
The Welshman had a great chance to double the Reds’ advantage shortly after the turnaround but could only head Elliot Anderson’s ball in straight at Vicario. Morgan Gibbs-White made no such mistake in the 62nd minute, however, as he was left in space to bury Callum Hudson-Odoi’s pull-back from inside the box.
Lucas Bergvall squandered a golden opportunity for Spurs with 15 minutes to go, then Sangare blocked a shot from Sarr. But substitute Taiwo Awoniyi wrapped up the three points when he poked in a Williams cross. Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players in north London…
Matz Sels: Will be absolutely delighted with the shutout. Did his bit with a fine save to deny Tel. Real battle between the Belgian and Stefan Ortega to be No.1. Rating: 7.5/10
Ola Aina: Ended up on the deck early on after Tel had the beating of him, and it didn’t get much better from there for the Reds full-back. On another day might have conceded a penalty to round off a shaky performance. Rating: 5/10
Nikola Milenkovic: A colossus in the heart of the defence. Committed and composed throughout and a real leader as he marshalled the back line brilliantly. Gave his all for the full 90 minutes. Rating: 8.5/10
Murillo: Made plenty of big interventions to keep the hosts at bay. Had a key part to play in what could be a massive win and clean-sheet. A huge confidence-booster, too. Rating: 8/10
Neco Williams: Terrific delivery for Jesus’ header - a few more set-pieces like that would not go amiss in the remaining games. Might have held his breath when VAR checked for a penalty against him, but came away with a double assist. Rating: 8.5/10
Ibrahim Sangare: Needed to exert more control in the centre of the pitch as the Reds lost that particular battle. Task got all the more difficult when he picked up a booking early in the second half, but did make an important block to thwart Sarr. Rating: 7/10
Elliot Anderson: Had a swarm of Spurs players around him whenever he got the ball. Not an easy game to make an impact in but kept battling away. Could have made the breakthrough with an early chance. Rating: 7.5/10
Omari Hutchinson: Fired straight at Vicario with a first-half shot, but didn’t offer too much else in an attacking sense. Could have done with helping out a bit more defensively when Forest were coming under pressure. Rating: 6.5/10
Morgan Gibbs-White: Had last summer panned out differently, could have been on the home side for this one. Almost inevitable, then, that he should get on the scoresheet. Almost single-handedly doing his best to keep Forest up. Rating: 7.5/10
Callum Hudson-Odoi: Couple of moments of promise in the opening stages when he teed up Anderson then put too much on a cross to the back post. Faded after that, but came up trumps with a nice assist for Gibbs-White. Rating: 7/10
Igor Jesus: Fortunate not to concede an own goal in the first half but did manage to put the ball in the right net on the stroke of half-time. Only his third goal in the league, but what a huge one it could prove to be. Rating: 7.5/10
Subs
Ryan Yates (for Hudson-Odoi, 70mins): Battled away, as you would expect from the club captain. Contributed to a massive three points. Rating: 7/10
Taiwo Awoniyi (for Jesus, 71mins): Once again showed he can have a big part to play in the run-in. Delightful goal and another nice moment for the Nigerian. Rating: 7.5/10
Dan Ndoye (for Hutchinson, 80mins): Worked hard during his time on the pitch to help see the game out. Gave plenty for the cause. Rating: 6.5/10
Nicolas Dominguez (for Anderson, 90+1mins): Case could have been made to bring him on sooner. Fresh legs would have been useful. Rating: 6/10
James McAtee (for Gibbs-White, 90+1mins): Didn’t get long enough to do a great deal. Will hope for more minutes after the international break. Rating: 6/10
Subs not used: Ortega, Morato, Netz, Bakwa.