What away end sang at Everton as Nottingham Forest pass test with flying colours to go second
Nottingham Forest made the trip to Goodison Park on Sunday knowing whatever happened they were guaranteed to sign off 2024 in the top four of the Premier League.
As it turned out, they ended the day in second spot and with Reds fans in dreamland. Second! Only Liverpool currently sit above them, giving the table a throwback feel to 40-odd years or so ago.
No wonder Forest appear to have got under the skin of Arne Slot as still the only team to have beaten the league leaders so far this term. A six-pointer at the top of the table when the sides meet at the City Ground on January 14?
That is for another day. For now, the Reds can look at a job well done over the other Merseyside team. It was a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Everton in the end.
For Nuno Espirito Santo, though, there was one particular standout moment against the Toffees. It wasn’t the exquisite combination between Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood for the opener, nor was it Morgan Gibbs-White’s classy finish for the second.
What the Forest head coach valued just as much as those two pieces of brilliance was the commitment of his players. And that was summed up right at the death when Elanga shook off a missed chance and immediately bust a gut to run back and do his defensive duties.
Such passages of play are the cornerstone of Nuno’s team. They are where they are, in part, because moments like that are not one-offs. Work-ethic and giving everything for the cause are at the heart of everything they do - supplemented by bags of quality.
The Reds ended the year with an incredible sequence of five wins in a row, and there is a real sense of anticipation for what 2025 might hold. Below, we look at some of the big talking points from the victory over Everton.
Squad shines
A true test for any team is how they handle adversity. And on Sunday, Forest came through with flying colours. In Nuno they have an adept problem solver.
The visitors were already without Ryan Yates (suspended) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (dead leg) when they travelled west. Both would likely have started had they been available.
But just to add to the challenge, Murillo then pulled up during the warm-up and had to pull out of the line-up. Losing the Brazilian was one thing, but his withdrawal also resulted in a last-minute formation switch as well as a change in personnel.
Forest took it all in their stride. Ramon Sosa came in and put a shift in while Morato was superb at the back - the duo making only their first and second Premier League starts respectively.
When Nuno opted to make full use of his bench, as he often does, those who came on were just as well drilled on what was required as the players they replaced. Forest remain keen to eek out more from the likes of Sosa, Jota Silva, Taiwo Awoniyi and James Ward-Prowse but they all did their bit.
The squad could do with a few minor tweaks in January - specifically the addition of another forward. But Nuno already has players he can rely on to step up in most areas of the pitch.
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Magnificent Morato
The biggest compliment to pay Morato is that Forest didn't greatly miss Murillo on this occasion. It was a seamless transition between the two Brazilians.
When Murillo headed off down the tunnel part way through the warm-ups with an adductor injury, fans could be forgiven for being slightly concerned over how their team might cope. That is no slight on Morato - after all, he had already proved himself to be a very reliable performer - but this was only his second Premier League start and he would be coming up against a direct and robust Everton team. The late formation change only added to the mix.
In the end, there was no need to worry. The 23-year-old was flawless. He read any danger superbly and made countless interventions, looking composed and assured throughout.
Talk about strength in depth, in central defence Forest are very well stocked. Willy Boly came off the bench to play his part as the visitors shut up shot once they had gone 2-0 up - a trait they have become very effective at. Morato is another example of how the recruitment team have done a remarkable job in uncovering hidden gems in recent windows - and that bodes well for January.
Great game management
Sublime play at the top end of the pitch won the match for the Reds. But they excelled just as much with how they managed the game against Sean Dyche’s men.
Matz Sels had very little to do all afternoon. It is a sign of how Forest are developing that this was a pretty comfortable win. If anything, Nuno’s team made it look easy. Rarely were there any sharp intakes of breath or chewing of fingernails from a jubilant away end.
This is a group of players who know what is expected of them. They are well-drilled and organised, regardless of who starts and who comes on as a substitute.
"That's what the squad is about, but it was a short period to prepare for the game," Nuno told BBC Radio Nottingham afterwards. “I was surprised how well the players reacted to the change and the different shape. They stuck to their tasks.
"That shows we are improving and getting more and more mature; growing up in the process and understanding that no matter what the shape it is about your individual tasks. The effort of the players is what we value the most and we must never stop doing that."
Halfway through
The season is now at the halfway point. Nuno might be staying grounded, but with every passing week it grows clearer that Forest are at the top end of the table to stay.
Top four? Why not? There is absolutely no reason why the second half of the campaign cannot be just as good as the first. The foundations are there.
“We’re gonna win the league” was the chant from the away end on Sunday. It might have been sung a little tongue in cheek but dreaming is what this sensational season is all about.
Being second in the table might only be temporary, but not since 1987/88 have the Reds been in the top four of the top-flight at the turn of a year. Such statistics keep coming this term.
Sunday was a third clean-sheet in a row and an eighth of the campaign for Sels. Five wins on the spin equalled a club record of successive victories in the division, set in April 1995. Beating Everton made it only the second time in Forest’s history they had won away to both Merseyside clubs in the same league season, having last done so in 1898/99.
The progress made this term is evident in so many ways. These are heady, giddy and exciting times Trentside, and fans are loving every moment.
