Nuno Espirito Santo once aspired to lead Tottenham to Champions League qualification.
Unfortunately, the Portuguese manager`s tenure at Spurs was cut short when Daniel Levy dismissed him after just 17 games in 2021.
However, Nuno`s Forest team took a significant stride towards Champions League qualification at Tottenham, securing a comfortable victory at his former ground.
Early goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood, with another Wood goal disallowed for offside, inflicted the damage. Forest climbed to third place despite a late goal from Richarlison for Spurs.
Despite recent setbacks of two consecutive defeats and strong competition for a top-five finish, Nuno’s team will be confident given their upcoming schedule.
Following their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, a major event in Forest`s recent history, their final five league games appear winnable.
Brentford at home, followed by an away match against Crystal Palace, who may be focused on a cup final.
A home game against relegated Leicester is followed by a trip to West Ham, who are likely eager for the season to conclude.
Finally, they host Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea on the last day, a team vying for Champions League spots but far from unbeatable.
In what is already a dream season, Forest couldn`t have asked for a better opportunity.
As for Tottenham, one can imagine a disheartened Ange Postecoglou on the sidelines.
From the euphoria of Thursday’s victory against Eintracht Frankfurt to their 18th league defeat of the season.
Spurs experienced a memorable night in Germany with a hard-fought 1-0 win.
This victory not only propelled them into the Europa League semi-finals, keeping their trophy aspirations alive.
But it also likely secured Postecoglou`s job, demonstrating that his players are still committed to his leadership.
However, this match served as a stark reminder of the reasons behind the earlier pressure on the Australian manager, as a dismal league campaign worsened.
And it was against former manager Nuno, adding insult to injury for the Spurs fans who attended, witnessing numerous empty seats.
It wasn`t just the defeat that disillusioned the home crowd, but the nature of the performance.
Again, Tottenham proved vulnerable, easily allowing opponents to create scoring opportunities.
Against a confident Forest side, breaching Tottenham`s fragile defense proved straightforward.
Morgan Gibbs-White tested Guglielmo Vicario early on, who made a diving save to his left in the fourth minute.
Moments later, Forest took the lead with a preventable goal from Tottenham’s perspective.
Pedro Porro`s attempted clearance of Anthony Elanga`s corner was weak.
The ball fell to Anderson outside the box, whose powerful shot deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur and looped over Vicario.
Forest nearly doubled their lead five minutes later when Wood converted Anderson’s precise cross, but VAR ruled it offside.
Undeterred, Forest extended their lead to 2-0 in the 17th minute, with Wood scoring his 19th Premier League goal of the season.
The powerful striker, whose former clubs Burnley and Leeds both achieved promotion back to the top flight on Easter Monday, headed in Elanga’s cross into an unguarded net.
Vicario’s attempt to punch clear the delivery was unsuccessful.
The Italian goalkeeper’s effort to prevent the goal encapsulated Tottenham’s performance in the opening 20 minutes: misjudged, slow, and inadequate.
Forest supporters were ecstatic, chanting ‘Up the Champions League we go’ as their team threatened to overwhelm Spurs.
Tottenham did have opportunities to respond from that point.
