Nottingham Forest move within six points of leaders Liverpool with win at Wolves
Nottingham Forest opened the door to a surprise Premier League title challenge after a sixth win in a row with a 3-0 victory at Wolves.
A brilliant season under Nuno Espirito Santo continued at Molineux thanks to first-half goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi’s strike at the death.
It meant they racked up six top-flight wins for the first time since 1979 when Brian Clough was in charge – a fitting achievement as Monday marked 50 years since the Forest great was appointed at the City Ground.
Nuno could be about to rekindle the magic Clough produced as Forest moved six points behind leaders Liverpool, who visit the City Ground next week in a clash which could decide whether they really are title contenders.
It was an especially good night for former Wolves player Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who gave watching England manager Thomas Tuchel food for thought with a goal and an assist respectively.
Wolves, missing talisman Matheus Cunha, remain in trouble at the other end of the table, losing under new boss Vitor Pereira for the first time, with three missed chances in the first half proving costly.
Moments after being goaded by the Wolves fans, Gibbs-White shut them up in the best possible way by scoring in front of the home end in just the seventh minute.
Elliot Anderson set Gibbs-White free to break at pace, he played in Anthony Elanga and got the ball back to sweep home from 14 yards, with the aid of a slight deflection.
He was happy to remind the Wolves fans of their early barbing by celebrating with his hands in his ears in front of them.
Forest should have surrendered their lead soon after but two heroic acts denied Wolves.
First, Murillo produced a fine goal-line clearance after Hwang Hee-chan had burst into the area and teed up Jorgen Strand Larsen, who looked primed to score from a few yards out.
Then goalkeeper Matz Sels, one of Forest’s players of the season, produced a magnificent flying save to tip over Rodrigo Gomes’ fierce volley.
The visitors were living dangerously and Sels denied a certain goal in the 28th minute as he did well to block Strand Larsen’s close-range header from Gomes’ wicked cross.
Forest were under the cosh but thought they should have had a penalty in the 33rd minute when Ola Aina’s cross hit the partly-outstretched arm of Rayan Ait-Nouri, but referee Peter Bankes waved away protests and VAR Alex Chilowicz did not see it differently.
They did not sulk at that decision and doubled their lead in the 44th minute.
Hudson-Odoi made it, skinning Matt Doherty on the left and cutting back to Wood, who swept home into an empty net for his 12th of the season.
The second half was played on Forest’s terms, happy to give up possession and look to counter, and Wolves were unable to put their visitors under any sustained pressure.
The nearest they came to getting back into the game was in the 67th minute when Strand Larsen was again denied by Sels, who turned a deflected effort around the post.
Awoniyi made it 3-0 with the final act, tapping in from James Ward-Prowse’s tee up.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie