Nuno Espirito Santo admits no one at Nottingham Forest imagined they’d be sitting third in the Premier League this deep into April. But after a gutsy 2-1 win over Tottenham, he’s all in on the challenge ahead. Forest had slipped to sixth following wins by top-four rivals Manchester City, Chelsea, and Aston Villa over the weekend. But they bounced back strong in London. Early goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood gave Forest the upper hand, and even though Spurs kept pressing, Richarlison’s late goal in the 87th minute wasn’t enough. Forest walked away with a huge three points that could seriously boost their Champions League hopes. Forest Up for the Test
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It’s wild to think that just last season, Forest had to win on the final day at Burnley just to stay in the league. Fast forward to now, and they’re not just surviving—they’re thriving. Wood’s 19th goal of the season is a major highlight, and the timing couldn’t be better with their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley just around the corner. Forest Up for the Test.
“Honestly, we know we’re in a fight nobody expected, including us,” Nuno said after the match. “But it’s not about proving people wrong. It’s about us pushing forward, wanting to compete. We’re up against some massive teams, and that’s something to be proud of. We embrace the challenge. It’s a big week ahead, but if we keep this competitive mindset, anything can happen.”
Forest got off to a dream start with Anderson’s deflected shot finding the back of the net in the fifth minute. Then 12 minutes later, Wood popped up between Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to head in a perfect cross from Anthony Elanga. Spurs came back into it and had their chances—Mathys Tel and Richarlison missed key opportunities in the first half, and Dejan Kulusevski had a header cleared off the line by Harry Toffolo in the second.
Matz Sels was massive in goal, pulling off two crucial saves from Richarlison before the Brazilian finally scored with a header off a Pedro Porro cross. But it was too little, too late.
“Yeah, those last few minutes were nerve-wracking,” Nuno said. “We just wanted the time to fly by. Tottenham really pushed us. But overall, I’m so proud of how the team competed. We started strong, got our goals, and even when we didn’t have the ball, we stayed in control and stuck to our game.”
On the other side, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou didn’t hold back. He called it their 18th league defeat of the season—and said it was simply “unacceptable.”
“It’s another one of those games we shouldn’t have lost,” he said. “We’re making life way too hard for ourselves in key moments. That’s been the story all season. Honestly, our football was great today. We dominated. Even after conceding the two goals, I felt like we still should’ve won. But at the end of the day, it’s another loss. And that’s not good enough.”
