What Evangelos Marinakis did as Nottingham Forest deliver statement response with stunning win
Credentials questioned? Not for long. If the true measure of any side is how they handle setbacks, Nottingham Forest delivered a masterclass of a response.
They were brilliant, ruthless and utterly devastating as they swept Brighton and Hove Albion aside. Owner Evangelos Marinakis cheekily stuck out his tongue in delight while chants of “we want eight” rang out around a jubilant City Ground.
The Reds have ticked off plenty of milestone moments this term and here was another one. This was their biggest ever Premier League victory and their biggest top flight win since April 1991, when they dismissed Chelsea by the same scoreline.
It was another special afternoon in what is firmly becoming a very special season. Below, we look at some of the big talking points from Saturday’s stunning 7-0 rout of the Seagulls.
Character shown
Questions were asked when Forest returned from the south coast with tails between legs after their chastening 5-0 thumping at Bournemouth. Pundits debated whether that would be the start of Nuno Espirito Santo’s men dropping off in the fight for European football.
Well, not a bit of it. Saturday was another example of why the Reds are at the top end of the table to stay. They are where they are for a reason, and that is quite simply because they are very good. More than very good, in fact.
Brighton have generally been the standard bearers for getting everything right, both on and off the pitch, in an attempt to challenge the established order. But they were left trailing in the hosts’ wake on the banks of the Trent, and now it is the Reds who are leading the way.
It is Forest’s recruitment efforts that deserve to be talked about. Forest’s managerial appointment working wonders. And Forest being the example of a club completely in step and united in working towards ambitious goals.
After a second-half wobble against Southampton and the capitulation against the Cherries, this was a test of the players’ character. Consider that question well and truly answered - in emphatic fashion. Nuno’s men became just the second side in Premier League history to lose a match by five or more goals and then win their next game by five or more goals.
"Do we want to crumble or do we want to bounce back? That response today showed exactly where we want to be heading,” Morgan Gibbs-White told TNT Sports (via the BBC) when asked about the Reds bouncing back.
Striker required?
With transfer deadline day just around the corner, there has been plenty of talk about what business the Reds will (or perhaps won’t) do. Will they get a striker in? After all, that is the only area of the pitch really in need of attention.
Nuno continues to give the impression of a man completely at ease with the situation. He has made the point several times that only “special” targets should be considered. If nobody comes in, the Portuguese is unlikely to complain.
Nuno is wary of the potential to rock the boat by doing too much business or by bringing in the wrong type of character. Forest are a real band of brothers and the Reds boss doesn’t want anything to disrupt the good thing he has going.
Why would he? This group has got the club to joint-second in the Premier League table.
Chris Wood showed why he will remain the main man, regardless of whether or not another forward comes in, by becoming the first Forest player to score a top-flight hat-trick at the City Ground since Nigel Clough in 1987. On 17 for the campaign, this is now officially his best goalscoring season in the Premier League.
But it wasn’t just him, Forest cut their opponents apart from so many angles. So much so that selecting a man of the match was no easy feat, with Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga also in contention.
The latter didn’t score but matched Wood by recording a treble of superb assists, taking him to 17 set-ups in the Premier League since the start of last season. Gibbs-White, Neco Williams and Jota Silva finding the back of the net shows the Reds have goals all over the pitch. And they still have Callum Hudson-Odoi to come back from injury.
Double boost
Even if no additions come through the City Ground doors before Monday’s deadline, Nuno has the equivalent of two new signings in his squad. Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare being fully fit is a huge positive.
It didn’t take the former long to remind everyone what he is capable of. He set Gibbs-White free with a terrific pass on the way to the opening goal. Saturday was the midfielder’s first start since he broke his ankle on the opening day of the campaign, but it was like he had never been away.
A huge cheer rang out the first time Danilo touched the ball. When he came off in the 65th minute he got a terrific standing ovation - as well as a hug from Willy Boly on the sidelines.
Danilo and Sangare had been Nuno’s first-choice midfield partnership for the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth back in August. They only had a few minutes together before the Brazilian suffered that horrific injury.
Sangare then faced a lengthy spell on the sidelines himself due to a hamstring problem. Coming off the bench for the final minutes on Saturday represented his first appearance since the end of August.
Those two can have a big part to play in the rest of the campaign. West Ham United loanee James Ward-Prowse didn’t even make the bench for this one and Ryan Yates was an unused sub, such is Nuno’s strength in depth in that department.
READ MORE: Nottingham Forest have one clear transfer 'priority' as deadline day looms
Normal (ish) service resumed
Nuno was quick to insist that such results - the one at Bournemouth and Saturday’s rout - are not “normal” but this was Forest getting back to what they are good at. Only with a little bit extra thrown in for good measure.
Starting Morato to go with a back three was a response to the Reds being uncharacteristically porous the previous weekend. It worked a treat as The Three Ms, as they are known - Morato, (Nikola) Milenkovic and Murillo were rock-solid.
The other M, Matz Sels, didn’t have too much to do between the posts but he did produce an incredible save to push a Danny Welbeck effort on to the bar when it was still 3-0. The Belgian will have been hurting after conceding five at the Vitality Stadium; bouncing back with his 10th clean-sheet of the campaign was some response.
The players were greeted by Marinakis as they made their way down the tunnel afterwards. Once in the dressing room, Gibbs-White was presented with a commemorative shirt to mark his 100th appearance for the club. His teammates chanted his name before cajoling him into giving a speech - the crux of which was Forest just have to keep going.
Surely few would bet against them doing so. A week ago, Nuno was the angriest he has been during his tenure at the club. His team delivered a statement response.
