There is no need to attempt to rewrite history by arguing that Tottenham failed to see what they had in Nuno Espírito Santo. All that matters now is that this meticulous, softly spoken manager is the perfect fit for Nottingham Forest.
They have provided Nuno with the perfect platform for his counterpunching tactics and, in what would surely be the story of the Premier League season, are closing in on Champions League football after beating Ange Postecoglou’s half-hearted Spurs.
This was clinical and resilient from Forest as they bounced back from two successive defeats by rising into third place with five games left. Nerves, it seems, are not for them. They struck early through Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood, who punished diffident defending with his 19th goal of a wonderful league campaign, and then leant on their defensive prowess to claim the points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs, stuck in 16th after falling to their 18th defeat in 33 games, were beaten inside 16 minutes, a header from Richarlison coming too late to save them.
“The final minutes were full of anxiety,” Nuno said. “Tottenham put us against the ropes. We are very proud of the way we competed today. We reacted well after the recent performances. The way we compete is as a team.”
Although Forest had to tweak their back four because of Ola Aina’s absence through injury, with Harry Toffolo coming in for his first league start of the season at left-back, there was little sign of expectation weighing them down.
The home fans must have wondered if the team in red could possibly have been coached by the same man who was deemed too negative before being sacked after four unhappy months in charge here in 2021. Nuno had Forest playing on the front foot, even if the omission of Callum Hudson-Odoi had suggested a more measured approach before kick-off, and it was not long before they exposed frailties within Postecoglou’s setup.
Spurs were not in the zone despite Postecoglou making five changes to the side that saw off Eintracht Frankfurt. They seemed startled by Forest’s intensity and did not even wake up after seeing Morgan Gibbs-White test Guglielmo Vicario with a stinging drive in the fourth minute.
Forest went ahead from the resulting corner. Anthony Elanga’s delivery was disappointing but Pedro Porro’s clearance was worse, exposing a lack of organisation. There was no pressure on Anderson when the ball fell to him on the edge of the area, allowing the midfielder to drive through a shot that flicked off Rodrigo Bentancur and beat Vicario for power.
The venom of Anderson’s strike shook Spurs, who looked flimsy next to such conviction. This is why Postecoglou’s position is so vulnerable, even with a Europa League semi-final against Bodø/Glimt to come. He chose not to rest Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in central defence, but Spurs remained feeble in the face of Forest’s directness.
The crosses kept coming. Spurs could not handle Wood. The striker had one effort disallowed for offside but soon made it 2-0, rising unchallenged to head past a flapping Vicario. Porro, standing off, had done nothing to stop Elanga’s inswinging cross.
Spurs, who were without Son Heung-min and Destiny Udogie, summoned belated fire. Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and Richarlison had chances. The thought occurred that Spurs would have been better served by trying harder when it was 0-0.
Postecoglou was pushing it when he claimed that his side played “outstanding” football. “It’s another game we’ve lost we shouldn’t lose,” he said. “We make things really difficult for ourselves in key moments. We gave away poor goals. It’s too many losses. I know that.”
Forest adjusted during the break, gearing themselves up for a rearguard action by replacing Elanga with Morato, who joined Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic in the middle of a back five. This was Nuno showing his flexibility, adjusting to circumstance in a way that Postecoglou rarely does. The danger, though, was inviting pressure. It was not done yet.
Forest went close to a third, Gibbs-White missing a good chance, but Spurs stirred. Toffolo, whose diligence after coming in from the cold summed up Forest’s unity, cleared Dejan Kulusevski’s header off the line. Matz Sels twice thwarted Richarlison.
Spurs enhanced their attack, Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson coming on, and they broke through when Richarlison glanced Porro’s cross past Sels after 87 minutes.
Forest had to survive seven added minutes, Nuno praying for the final whistle. The celebrations at the end were gleeful. Forest head to Wembley on Sunday, an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City there to be won, and will keep dreaming. Out of the top five before the start of play, the question was whether they could handle the pressure. Their response was resounding.