London Evening Standard

Arch-rivals could well clash again after brutal battle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium won by Eubank Jr

No love lost: Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr finally clashed in the ring after years of rancour and controversy between the pair

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George Flood

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Saturday night’s long-awaited grudge match between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn in London certainly did not disappoint.

Both men left absolutely everything in the ring during a pulsating 12-round war at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that captivated from the first bell, with round upon round of exciting action and rarely a dull moment between bitter arch-rivals in a contest that was years in the making.

While Benn’s efforts after making the significant jump up two divisions from welterweight to middleweight deserve considerable praise, in the end it was Eubank Jr’s night as he won by unanimous decision with three judges’ scores of 116-112 in his favour.

It was an evening full of emotion for Eubank Jr, who was surprisingly reunited with his father Chris Eubank Sr ahead of the high-profile fight and continuation of a long-running family rivalry that has its origins in Senior’s two massive world title fights with Conor Benn’s dad Nigel in the 1990s.

The inevitable question on everyone’s lips immediately after Eubank Jr’s entertaining victory concerned whether or not there will be a rematch.

Will there be a Eubank vs Benn rematch?

The short answer is almost certainly yes.

While Benn also discussed the possibility of going back down to welterweight to challenge American Mario Barrios for the WBC world title, he also stated his ambition to quickly avenge the first loss of his 24-fight professional career that has stalled in recent years amid his battle to clear his name following two failed voluntary drugs tests that caused his initial bout against Eubank Jr to be cancelled at short notice in October 2022.

“Oi congrats @ChrisEubankJr but this ain’t over,” Benn wrote on X after the fight.

Speaking at his post-fight press conference, he said: “Yeah, I want the revenge man. I want my revenge.

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“I think inactivity played a big part. It’s quite hard because obviously the past two-and-a-half years, what had gone on, not fighting back here to then coming home to this, it took me back. It did take me back.

“In a good way and in a bad way. I was sitting there going ‘oh my gosh, this is unbelievable’. And then in the same breath... there were just a lot of new first times for me today, first stadium fight, first time fighting back here in three years, first fight at 160.

“I had Eubank hurt multiple times, three or four times in there noticeably. I just couldn’t get the finish. I’ll make sure for next time that the finish is there.”

Quizzed on his future plans in the ring immediately after the fight, Benn had said: “Listen, we always knew Chris is a good fighter.

“All the fighting talk is fighting talk, he’s a good fighter. I believe I can fight at 160. If we don’t do the rematch, which I’d love to avenge that loss, go back down to welterweight and win the WBC world title.

“It’s either Mario Barrios or the rematch with Eubank. Whichever happens next I’ll be content with.”

Barrios is 29-2-1 and won the vacant interim WBC title at welterweight by outpointing Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas in September 2023, then retaining it against Fabian Maidana and being elevated to full champion status after former undisputed king Terence Crawford’s move up to super-welterweight.

He kept his new belt with a thrilling split-decision draw against Abel Ramos in Texas in November. There have been more rumours recently of a potential bout between Barrios and the legendary Manny Pacquiao next.

A rematch clause was known to exist in the contract between Eubank Jr and Benn, with the latter’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirming in his own press conference after the fight that the terms were already agreed, though he urged caution over his fighter again having to make the sizable jump up to middleweight.

“I think maybe Junior should come down a little bit lower, rather than Conor Benn coming up two weight classes,” Hearn said.

He later added: “I think they served you up one of the greatest fights we’ve ever seen in this country.

Disappointment: Conor Benn suffered the first defeat of his professional career against Chris Eubank Jr

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“But for me, the danger was not for Chris Eubank Jr, the danger was for Conor Benn. And that’s why we’ve got to think very carefully about the rematch, because I don’t want to see him in too many fights like that.

“It’s all very well us sitting there and going ‘wow what a fight, let’s do it again’. They are the kind of fights that will shorten a career, and he’s got such a long career ahead of him.

“The terms are already agreed for the rematch to move forward. And it’s the same as the first contract in that respect. I think we got it spot on with the numbers.”

Eubank Jr was not asked for his thoughts on a potential rematch against Benn, with his post-fight press conference cancelled after he was taken to hospital by ambulance for precautionary checks on the recommendation of the on-site doctor at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Ange Postecoglou faces a difficult balancing act for Sunday's visit to Liverpool, which comes ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday evening.

Postecoglou is likely to continue to rotate his squad but some first-team players will need minutes after sitting out against Nottingham Forest on Monday night.

Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison, Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson, all of whom are likely to start for Spurs against the Norwegian side, could feature at Anfield, with Liverpool needing a point to wrap up the league title.

Postecoglou could nonetheless make wholesale changes to his backline between the games, with key centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven likely to be kept on ice.

Archie Gray could come in at right-back, giving Pedro Porro a rest, while there is little to choose between left-backs Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie.

If he is not fit, Mathys Tel could start in the South Korean's place again, while Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Mikey Moore are among Postecoglou's options from the left against Liverpool.

"We don't really have injury problems," Postecoglou said on Friday. "Obviously Sonny's the one that's kind of working, trying to work his way back, and he's improving, which is positive for us, not for Sunday.

“Apart from obviously the longer-term ones, everyone else from the last game has backed up really well, so the rest of the squad’s fit and available, and in terms of team selection we'll see. We’ve got another 48 hours to decide which way we go."

Postecoglou could leave with his doubters in the mud and his reputation enhanced if Spurs win the Europa League

Postecoglou looks increasingly likely to leave Spurs this summer, even if they win the Europa League

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If Ange Postecoglou wanted a reminder that there is life after Tottenham, he need only have glanced down the touchline during Monday's defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Nuno Espirito Santo was derided following his forgettable four-month stint at Spurs in 2021, written off by many as a coach who was ill-suited in tactics and personality for the upper-reaches of the Premier League.

Yet, on Monday night Nuno completed the double over his former club as Forest moved back into the top three, well-placed for a remarkable return to the Champions League for the first time since the Brian Clough era.

The Portuguese's counter-punching style and low-key oratory are better-suited to Forest than a so-called 'big six' club, but Nuno stands as a reminder that a succession of managers have been successful before and after their time in north London - but not at Spurs.

Postecoglou’s Spurs are 16th in the Premier League but have reached the Europa League semi-finals

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Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, both labelled dinosaurs during miserable spells at the club, are other recent examples.

So, as Postecoglou faces up to a likely parting of the ways in the summer, with the Australian increasingly likely to leave at the end of the season regardless of whether Spurs win the Europa League, he can take comfort that the problem may not lie with him.

The optics of Daniel Levy sacking a manager who had delivered the club's first trophy in 17 years would be enormously iffy, but then the chairman sacked Martin Jol - with news filtering out during a Uefa Cup match - dismissed Mauricio Pochettino in the midst of a fly-on-the-wall documentary and gave Mourinho the boot five days before a cup final.

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It is easy to understand why Levy may not be sheepish about canning Postecoglou following 18 defeats in 33 league games, repeated clashes with supporters and some pointed recent remarks about the lack of communication from boardroom level.

If Postecoglou is to depart in the summer, his legacy is still to be determined; he could go down as the worst-ever Spurs coach in the Premier League era (they need eight points from their remaining five games to surpass their record-low of 44 in 1997-98), yet could still finish the season as one of their best-ever managers by winning the Europa League.

In fulfilling his promise of always winning something in his second season, Postecoglou would write his name into Spurs' history and walk off into the sunset as a vindicated man, his doubters in the mud and his reputation enhanced by doing what Pochettino, Mourinho, Conte et al could not.

Levy will make the final call on Postecoglou’s future

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As Postecoglou has pointed out recently, he had three challenges on joining the club: to change the style of play, lower the age-profile of the squad and bring success.

As it stands, it is difficult to place Postecoglou in the managerial marketplace; if he left Spurs today, for example, would he ever get another chance in the Premier League? But as a European trophy winner, he would be a much more attractive proposition to a host of ambitious clubs.

All this talk, of course, is enormously tempting to fate, because first Spurs must navigate a tricky Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt and then do what they not done in the last four attempts: win a final, where Manchester United or Athletic Club de Bilbao potentially lie in wait.

Postecoglou's strange situation has drawn comparisons with Erik ten Hag, who was effectively given a stay of execution at Manchester United after unexpectedly winning last season's FA Cup.

Perhaps a better, albeit more dated, parallel for Postecoglou, though, is Keith Burkinshaw, who led Spurs to the 1984 UEFA Cup in his final game in charge, before stepping down due to a disagreement with the board.

Today, Burkinshaw is a Spurs hall-of-famer, celebrated as one of the most important figures in the club's history. Strange as it may seem amid such a wretched year, Postecoglou still has a chance to be remembered similarly.

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Kulusevski hit out at the club’s failure to assemble squad ready to compete on all fronts

Unacceptable: Dejan Kulusevski was left furious by Tottenham’s defeat to Nottingham Forest

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Dan Kilpatrick @ Dan_KP2 minutes ago

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Dejan Kulusevski has slammed Tottenham's latest league defeat to Nottingham Forest as "not good enough" and says the team must "respect" every game and perform "like it's your last".

Kulusevski was particularly frustrated as Spurs fell 2-0 down for the second weekend running after failing to deal with balls into the box and says every member of the side must "take responsibility" for dealing with crosses.

Elliot Anderson’s deflected strike gave Forest a fifth-minute lead and Chris Wood scored a header, minutes after having a goal disallowed for a tight offside.

Spurs missed a host of chances before Richarlison halved the deficit in the 87th-minute but they could not find a leveller, as Ange Postecoglou's side crashed down to earth with an 18th league defeat of the season after Thursday's impressive win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-final.

Kulusevski says Spurs were not prepared to compete on multiple fronts this season, underlined by their winter injury pile-up.

"[The top clubs have] been doing it many years," Kulusevski said, when asked why Spurs were struggling for consistency.

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"They know exactly what they're doing. They're bringing in a lot of players that are ready to play both competitions. And they are prepared for it.

Tottenham’s defeat to Nottingham Forest was their 18th in the Premier League this season

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"This year we cannot say that we're prepared for it because we had so many injuries and we did a lot of things wrong from the beginning of the season and we're paying for it right now.

"After big nights like Thursday, you always go down. That's why teams who are in more competitions are paying [a price]. We're not handling it right, we're not handling it well. Because after 16 minutes we'd conceded three goals, with the offside goal.

"Then it's hard to win football games. It's not good enough. Then we played some good football but if you're not doing everything right, you will not win games.

"I can't speak for everyone, I'm talking about me. I know that after a big night like that, you come back at five in the morning and you're going to feel disastrous.

"So you've got to find things to do to pick yourself up. It [comes] with experience. I felt great today and that's good.

"The manager said the first 15 minutes cost us the game with the corners and free-kicks.

"[It's] not good enough. We've got to improve. We've got to improve from crosses. I know we defended good on Thursday but we concede too many crosses and everybody must take responsibility and ask themselves why we concede so many crosses."

Asked what he meant when he said Spurs "did a lot of things wrong" early in the season, Kulusevski said: "We had a lot of injuries. Injuries don't happen for a [sic] reason. That's what we did wrong."

Tottenham’s season will once again be on the line when they face Bodo/Glimt

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Spurs face a daunting visit to champions-elect Liverpool on Sunday, when the Reds can clinch the title, before the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.

"[The semi-final] is very important," continued Kulusevski. "I can't say nothing about it. But like I said, you've got to respect the game, you've got to play every game like it's your last game.

"And that's what we've got to do. We've got to play against Liverpool, do our best, and then the Europa League, like I've always said from the start of the season, we have to win it.

"We have the quality to do it. Like you saw on Thursday, when we play in the Europa League, the build up to the game is real."

Kulusevski's return to the XI for the first time since February 22 was a positive for Spurs, with the Swede now recovered from a niggling foot injury.

"I felt great honestly," he said. "I'm so angry about the result but I've got to see the bigger picture: I'm back, I'm healthy and we've got important games coming up, so I've got to stay focussed.

"I took [my time out] so well because I had to accept it and I had more time to be with my daughter and wife, and do other things in life. I still worked extremely hard because I know that when you come back, it can be hard. But I did all the work necessary to feel good right now. I did everything right."

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Nuno Espirito Santo insisted that he does not hold a grudge against Tottenham after his rocky spell as the club’s manager.

The Portuguese spent four months as Spurs head coach in 2021, and was sacked after starting the season with a run of eight wins in 17 matches. He was replaced by Antonio Conte, who led the club back to a fourth-place finish.

Four years down the line, though, Nuno led Nottingham Forest to a 1-2 victory at Hotspur Stadium thanks to goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood. The win saw Forest move third in the Premier League table, 23 points ahead of the Lilywhites, also confirming their league double over the North London club.

Asked whether he was pleased to have proved Spurs wrong, he said: “I am not that kind of person.”

He said he was grateful for the opportunity to manage Tottenham despite the difficulties of his tenure: “I was honoured to be managing Tottenham. A huge, big club.

He admitted Forest were lucky to come away with the win on Monday, though, as Spurs were the better side for much of the match.

“Tottenham put us against the ropes, so it is about defending and holding on to the result.

“Credit to Tottenham. They created so many chances against us, and we were fortunate to get away with the result.”

But he is relishing the dogfight that is the European qualification race, not to mention a looming FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

“We have a big desire to compete and the players enjoy. We are in the mix against big teams and that can only make us proud.

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Tottenham: Postecoglou insists players do not lack motivation as loss put down to lack of focus

Spurs are in danger of recording a worst-ever Premier League season

Postecoglou is facing a dismal season result

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Dan Kilpatrick @ Dan_KP2 minutes ago

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Ange Postecoglou insisted that Tottenham do not lack motivation in the Premier League after they slumped to an 18th defeat of the season at home to Nottingham Forest.

Spurs crashed back down to earth after their Europa League quarter-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt mid-week with a 2-1 defeat to Nuno Espirito Santo's Champions League-chasing side.

Elliot Anderson broke the deadlock with a deflected strike after five minutes and Chris Wood doubled Forest's lead when he beat Guglielmo Vicario in the air, minutes after he had seen a goal disallowed for a tight offside.

Spurs dominated at 2-0, recording 22 shots in total to Forest's four, but did not pull a goal back until Richarlison's 87th-minute header.

Postecoglou’s side need eight more points from five games to beat their lowest-ever Premier League points total of 44 in 1997-98.

Asked if avoiding that low was a motivation for his players, Postecoglou said: "I don't know what that means.

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"I don't think you saw a team that wasn't motivated.

"It's not like we lost because players chucked it in. If that's what people saw then they're watching something different to me. I don't think they lacked motivation today because I thought our football was outstanding.

"But again, we've paid the price for lacking focus and concentration in key moments, and it's another game we've let slip. So I don't think motivation is an issue.

"It shouldn't be [down to leadership] because it's happened to us a few times this year," he added.

"We should have learned from these things, but it's a constant in our make-up at the moment and it's something we need to eradicate. At different times this year we've shown really good focus and concentration, Frankfurt being a classic case of that.

"But tonight, just at the start, we didn't really sense the only threat that Forest were going to have was the counter-attack, which we handled really well in the second half, and set pieces. We let in two poor goals.

"It’s another game we have lost where we shouldn’t lose and it’s been a big part of our season in that we are just making things really difficult for ourselves in key moments, just a little bit of concentration. Giving away poor goals.

"It’s a shame because our football was outstanding and we totally dominated the game. Even with the two goals we conceded, I still feel like we deserved to win the game. At the same time, it’s another loss and another unacceptable loss.”

Asked if he had a message for supporters, Postecoglou replied: "I don’t need to say anything to the fans.

"The fans are disappointed and angry, and we are as well. It’s too many losses. I know that. I don’t need to tell the fans anything.

"The fans clearly wouldn’t be happy with our results, but neither am I or the players.

"From our perspective, we need to accept responsibility that we have fallen short of the standards we need to have.

"The frustrating bit is it’s not because of the way we are playing, because our football today was very similar to the Frankfurt game at home, which was another game we should have won."

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Spurs started slowly in the match, falling to a two-goal deficit after a quarter of an hour following goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood, who had another early effort ruled out by VAR.

For the remainder of the match, Tottenham were comfortably the better side, creating chances aplenty but failing to finish one until Richarlison headed home with three minutes of regular time remaining. It was scant consolation for Postecoglou.

Speaking at full-time, the Australian said: “We couldn't dominate anymore than we did or create more chances, but we just conceded poor goals and gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

“[I am] really disappointed with the goals we conceded, and the most frustrating thing is that outside of that, I thought our football was outstanding.

“Its only after we conceded that we woke up and started playing our football, but I just said we can’t give teams two-goal head starts.”

Postecoglou was right to be frustrated by the goals. Anderson’s opener took a heavy deflection to evade Vicario, but the keeper was at fault for the second as Wood leapt higher than the Italian to head home.

The loss is Tottenham’s 18th of the Premier League season, leaving them sat 16th in the table and facing a worst finish of the Premier League era. Postecoglou felt the performance was in line with some of Spurs’ earlier losses.

“That has been our problem all year. It is not about our football but about maintaining focus and concentration throughout the whole game. There are too many games this year where we have lost in that manner and that is why we are in the position we are.”

He added that he had planned for Dejan Kulusevski, Micky van de Ven, Wilson Odobert, and Christian Romero to be substituted early as he looks to conserve fitness ahead of next weekend’s trip to Anfield. It was a small solace that Spurs came out of the match with no fresh injuries.

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Tottenham: Postecoglou can take positives as Tel and Odobert impress in Forest loss

Another league loss was in stark contrast to Tottenham’s European form

Spurs can take positives from their loss to Forest

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Dan Kilpatrick @ Dan_KP2 minutes ago

Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick

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Tottenham slumped to an 18th league defeat of the season, going down 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest.

Early goals by Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood boosted Forest’s Champions League hopes, although there were reasons for encouragement for Spurs, who dominated at 2-0 down and struck late through Richarlison.

Here are three Spurs talking points from the game…

European progress is Tottenham’s clear priority

But this was another frustrating occasion for the club in the Premier League.

For the second weekend running, Postecoglou’s side started the game in an embarrassingly lax fashion, trailing after five minutes to Anderson’s fierce strike.

There was an element of fortune to the finish, which took a deflection off Rodrigo Bentancur to deceive Guglielmo Vicario, but Spurs’ failings were exactly the same as for Wolves’ second-minute opener in the 4-2 defeat at Molineux last weekend; they failed to adequately clear a set-piece or pick up a free man on the edge of the box.

And Forest’s second goal after 16 minutes was another example of Postecoglou’s side not learning their lessons.

Wood had already ghosted beyond Micky van de Ven to double Forest’s lead but the goal was ruled off by the VAR for offside.

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A few minutes later, however, Wood found space between Cristian Romero and van de Ven (both of whom were replaced by Postecoglou at the interval) and easily beat Vicario to the header.

Tel produced one of his best performances in a Tottenham shirt

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From that point onwards, Spurs were much the better team and unlucky to score just once. Richarlison had missed four good opportunities before finally heading home Pedro Porro’s cross, Mathys Tel blazed wide from a great position and Dejan Kulusevski’s header was hooked off the line spectacularly by Harry Toffolo.

But the damage was done in another sloppy opening, which suggested Spurs were ill-prepared mentally and tactically for another league game.

Maybe that does not really matter, as long as they can raise their levels against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-final next month, but there were reasons here for the Norwegian champions to be both concerned by Spurs’ threat and encouraged by their sloppiness.

Tel and Odobert lively

The strange thing was, a 2-1 home defeat came with plenty of reasons for optimism, particularly in the performances of Tel and Wilson Odobert.

The France Under-21 internationals lined up either side of Richarlison, who was starting for the first time since February 6, and both advanced their cases to be included against Bodo, especially Tel.

The Bayern Munich loanee built on his bright display in the Europa League quarter-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday with a confident showing, linking up well with left-back Djed Spence and worrying his full-back.

For the first time, the 19-year-old looked like a potential £50million player and possible long-term replacement for Heung-min Son – who was missing again with a foot injury.

He did, though, squander a great chance, blazing high and wide after Neco Williams made a mess of Porro’s cross in the first half.

Odobert was similarly lacking end product but his willingness to run at his man and ability to go inside or out make him an asset for Postecoglou’s Spurs, and he was also lively here.

If his teammates, notably Richarlison, had been sharper, the 20-year-old might have finished with at least one assist.

There was an irony that Dominic Solanke has been crying out for proper service in recent weeks but he was introduced as Odobert was withdrawn in the 67th-minute.

As it stands, Son and Brennan Johnson appear to be Postecoglou’s first-choice wide men, and rightly so given their superior numbers in the final third.

But Tel and Odobert have shown some promise and potentially given the head coach a positive headache going forward.

Vicario struggled on Monday night

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Vicario form now a concern

For the second weekend running, Vicario was at fault for certainly one and arguably two goals in another alarmingly shaky showing from the goalkeeper.

If last weekend at Wolves, when Vicario was to blame for the hosts' first two goals, could be put down as a blip, his form is now a serious concern for Postecoglou.

Anderson’s strike took a deflection and was tricky for the Italian but he still might have kept it out, and there was no excusing his poor judgement as he raced off his line for the second goal, only to easily be beaten by Wood in the air.

With a European semi-final ahead, Spurs need Vicario – who is a dressing room leader and one of their few established senior players – to be confident and sharp.

Right now, he looks anything but.

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Tottenham’s league form continues to falter despite Europa League highs

Richarlison’s late headed effort was not enough to undo Forest’s fast start

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Dan Kilpatrick @ Dan_KP2 minutes ago

Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick

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Tottenham came back down to Earth after their Europa League quarter-final win at Eintracht Frankfurt mid-week with a 2-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

Goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood in the first 16 minutes boosted Forest’s Champions League hopes in a game otherwise dominated by Ange Postecoglou’s side.

Richarlison headed home a late consolation for Spurs, having already missed four good chances, while Dejan Kulusevski had an effort spectacularly cleared off the line by Harry Toffolo.

Forest clung on to move back into the top three and leave Spurs with 18 top-flight defeats this season.

Here’s how we rated the Spurs players…

Guglielmo Vicario 3

Arguably at fault for both goals in another alarmingly shaky display. Deceived by the deflection for Anderson’s strike but outright beaten in the air by Wood for the clincher.

Pedro Porro 7

Set up Richarlison’s headed goal with one of a number of dangerous crosses from the right. Stretched by substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi in the second half.

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Cristian Romero 4

A red mist day for the Argentine, who looked determined to pick up at least a booking, which he duly managed. Wood ghosted away from him for the second goal and he was hooked at half-time.

Micky van de Ven 4

Wood escaped him for a disallowed goal and he was beaten in the air by the Kiwi for the one which counted. Replaced at half-time, along with Romero.

Djed Spence 7

Started brightly and made some dangerous runs into the Forest box. Faded a little after the break.

Porro posed a threat throughout

AP

Rodrigo Bentancur 6

Provided the platform for Spurs to control possession, but his passing was a mixed bag.

Pape Matar Sarr 6

Looks short of sharpness in possession but covered plenty of ground, as usual.

Dejan Kulusevski 6

So unlucky that Toffolo brilliantly cleared his header off the line. Looked short of sharpness, which was no great surprise on his first start since February.

Wilson Odobert 7

Saw plenty of the ball and used it well in a lively display. Would have had at least one assist if his teammates had been sharper.

Mathys Tel 7

Followed up a good display in Frankfurt with another confident showing. Worried his full-back and create a number of opportunities. Blazed a glorious chance high and wide after Neco Williams made a mess of a cross.

Richarlison 7

Made it goals in back-to-back league games after finally taking a late chance with a lovely header. He had twice headed wide from good positions in the first half and twice forced smart saves from Matz Sels after the break.

Tel missed a big chance in the first half

Action Images via Reuters

Subs

Ben Davies (van de Ven 46’) 7

Assured at the back as Forest were held at arms length after the break.

Kevin Danson (Romero 46’) 7

Initially looked rusty but grew into the half and dealt well with Forest’s threat on the counter. Flashed a decent effort wide from range.

Brennan Johnson (Odobert 67’) 6

Not as threatening as Odobert and presumably in competition with the Frenchman for a start on the right against Bodo/Glimt.

Dominic Solankle (Kulusevski 67’) 6

Made a limited impact but would have loved to have been on the pitch for some of Richarlison’s first-half chances.

Lucas Bergvall (Sarr 81’) 7

Added drive to the midfield in another lively showing. Has moved well ahead of Sarr in the pecking order.

Not used: Kinsky, Bissouma, Gray, Maddison.

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Forest were quick off the mark, Elliot Anderson’s deflected shot bouncing beyond Vicario after just five minutes, before Chris Wood would have an effort ruled out by VAR after ten. He would head home again with just over a quarter of an hour played, though, to double the guests’ lead.

From there, Forest largely coasted. After Wood’s goal, they would not have another shot until well after half-time, content to sit back and let the hosts dictate the play.

And Spurs did grow into the game after looking far from convincing in the opening stages, but Richarlison’s wayward shooting would prevent them from drawing level before the break as he headed wide of the mark on two occasions. Mathys Tel would also lash a shot well wide after Neco Williams’ bungled clearance left him face to face with Matz Sels.

The match mellowed somewhat in the second half as Tottenham tired of their frenetic drives forward, but it was the hosts who continued to have the better of the play.

Dejan Kulusevski went agonisingly close as he headed a corner across goal, but Harry Toffolo was at full stretch to deny him, clearing his effort off the line. Sels would later get down to the line remarkably quickly to deny Richarlison a headed goal.

The Brazilian’s moment would still come, though, as he pulled one back for the hosts with three minutes remaining in regular time, but it would be too little, too late for Tottenham, who chalk up an eighteenth loss of the season.