Nottingham Forest secured a notable 2-1 away victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Easter Monday, extending their remarkable unbeaten run to 17 consecutive top-flight matches played on this holiday (W14, D3). The result sees Forest climb back into third place in the Premier League, while Spurs face the prospect of their first bottom-half finish in the league since the 2007/08 season.
Despite Tottenham’s recent progression to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals, it was Forest who dominated the early exchanges at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The visitors took a deserved lead in the 8th minute. Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario could only parry away a fierce strike from Morgan Gibbs-White from the edge of the box. The subsequent corner from Anthony Elanga was headed away by Pedro Porro, but only as far as Elliot Anderson, whose shot from range took a deflection off Rodrigo Bentancur, wrong-footing Vicario.
Forest thought they had doubled their advantage just two minutes later when Anderson played a delightful ball over the top for Chris Wood to poke home. However, VAR intervened, ruling Wood marginally offside due to an elbow. The reprieve for the home side was short-lived. In the 19th minute, Elanga delivered a pinpoint cross into the box, and Wood rose majestically to head past Vicario, sending the travelling Forest supporters into jubilant celebrations.
Spurs struggled to find a response in the first half, despite creating a couple of late opportunities. Mathys Tel sliced a shot wide, and Richarlison headed off target, highlighting the contrasting efficiency in front of goal between the two sides.
Manager Ange Postecoglou reacted to his team’s lackluster first-half performance by making a double substitution at the break, introducing Ben Davies and Kevin Danso in place of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. However, the change in personnel did little to immediately alter the momentum of the game.
Just before the hour mark, Gibbs-White had a golden opportunity to extend Forest’s lead after being played through on goal by a flick-on from Wood, but he fired his shot wide under pressure.
Spurs then squandered a significant chance to pull a goal back in the 75th minute. Dejan Kulusevski’s glancing header appeared to be looping into the net at the back post, only for Harry Toffolo to produce an acrobatic goal-line clearance.
In the closing stages, Forest opted to sit deeper, and their goalkeeper Matz Sels was called into action, twice denying Richarlison, including an impressive fingertip save from a downward header.
A tense finale ensued when Richarlison finally found the net for Spurs in the 86th minute, heading in a long cross from Porro. However, it proved to be a mere consolation as Forest held on to secure a well-deserved victory.
The win is significant for Nottingham Forest as they continue their push for European qualification, exactly three decades after securing a famous bronze medal under Frank Clark, the successor to the legendary Brian Clough.
For Tottenham Hotspur, the defeat marks a concerning trend against the Premier League’s top teams, having now lost 17 of their last 21 league games against sides starting the day in the top half of the table. The loss also makes their first bottom-half league finish since the 2007/08 season a near certainty.
