Nottingham Forest made it four consecutive Premier League wins on Boxing Day, edging out Tottenham Hotspur thanks to an imperious defensive display.
Anthony Elanga scored the only goal as Forest beat Tottenham 1-0 on the Premier League’s traditional festive fixture day, seeing them rise up to third in the league table.
Whilst goalscorer Elanga deserves recognition, it was a day for the Forest squad to show their defensive capabilities against one of the Premier League’s most potent attacks.
Murillo impressed Patrick Rowe with his contribution to the defence, whilst Nikola Milenkovic was at his commanding best alongside the Brazilian.
Spurs did have a few good chances, however, with one in particular falling to Forest Academy graduate, Brennan Johnson. Spurs fans criticised Johnson for his display, but he was somewhat unlucky in finding Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels in tremendous form.
Matz Sels on ‘important’ save to deny Brennan Johnson
Speaking after the game, Sels was quick to return to his smothering save against Johnson, which was one of the key moments en route to another clean sheet.
Sels said: “It was an important moment in the game, of course. If they equalise there it’s a different game but I will be there, or try to be there for the team in the difficult moments. It’s nice to keep a clean sheet.”
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The Belgian goalkeeper’s contribution was clear, but playing in front of an in-form defensive duo like Murillo and Milenkovic certainly helps, a factor that Sels was keen to stress.
He said: “It’s truly a pleasure to play with my two centre-halves (Murillo and Milenkovic) before me because we have a lot of confidence so we try to keep going.
“For the moment, we are defending really well which is a big positive. I think, in certain moments, we know that we need to defend with all 11 players which we’re doing quite well.”
Whilst his defence was impressive, Sels’ stats against Spurs highlight his crucial role in Forest’s victory.
Matz Sels’ impressive Nottingham Forest stats in Spurs win
Sels produced a star display against Tottenham, with his four saves amounting to an xG prevented of 0.93 goals, highlighting how likely Spurs would’ve been to score on another day.
It wasn’t necessarily a game for Forest to pass out from the back effectively, so Sels’ seven accurate long balls were crucially important to help get his side further up the pitch.
Sels also managed to deny Johnson a goal in the first half, tipping over a strike from the Welshman that looked destined for the top corner.