Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is keen to insist that qualifying for the Champions League is neither a necessity nor the limit of his ambitions, but Tottenham’s win over Nottingham Forest has moved them up in the league table. It will be difficult to find supporters.
With a game in hand against Aston Villa, Postecoglou’s side are now back in fourth place, having not occupied that position since mid-February, but despite some difficult matches ahead, they are looking to secure a place in Europe next season. He is in pole position to participate in the top competition. Just don’t expect the director to show any excitement about that fact. “I don’t care about fighting for fourth place, dude.”
It wasn’t perfect. The Spurs rarely care about that. But unlike the frustrating draw with West Ham in midweek, he ultimately found a way to post a fairly comprehensive scoreline.
Things could have been very different if Forest had benefited from some big moments in the first half. With the scoreline level after Chris Wood canceled out Murillo’s early own goal, the New Zealander only needed a gentle stroke with the paintbrush before hitting the Spurs post two yards from goal. He hit the ball with a sledgehammer, missing out on a brilliant chance to score his second goal.
Ten minutes later, Forest captain Ryan Yates collapsed holding his stomach after an incident with James Maddison off the ball. Replays showed a rather suspicious fist connecting with Yates’ abdomen, but the Spurs midfielder escaped punishment.
“He hit him,” Nuno Espirito Santo said. “I’m surprised VAR didn’t inform Simon.” [Hooper, the referee] To be respectfully honest, Madison needs a better review because she loses her cool and it’s like a punch in the gut for Yates. I should have reconsidered and made a different decision. It’s clear to me. That’s a red card. ”
At that stage Spurs were struggling after a bright start. However, the substitution of both central midfielders at half-time resulted in a significant improvement for Postecoglou’s side in a second period in which the hosts were hardly tested. Tottenham broke through a few lightning strikes from unexpected players Micky van de Ven and Pedro Polo, and immediately resolved the situation.
“Today was a little bit of everything for us,” Coach Postecoglou said. “It wasn’t just the goals, we started the game well and had good control. We lost a bit of flow at the end of the first half, but it was a great reaction and we were really dominant throughout the second half. Looking for points. We played good football, scored a few goals and then some more against a team that was playing hard and playing hard. I think we coped really well.”
From the first 45 minutes alone, there was every chance that Nuno’s first return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since setting an unwanted record as the club’s longest-serving manager would be a fruitful one.
Having only recorded their second league win of the season against Fulham earlier in the week, Forest continued their mini-resurgence since being deducted four points for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, but the visiting side almost lost their place through Murillo. He scored a brilliant victory. The Brazilian lobbed Guglielmo Vicario with an audacious shot from nearly 70 yards, but the ball bounced wide.
He found the net four minutes later, but only on the wrong side of the net. Timo Werner was in good form and sent a tricky low cross across the six-yard box, but the Brazilian’s outstretched spike deflected it back.
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Ten minutes later, Mats Sells brilliantly denied Brennan Johnson’s shot from close range and Forest immediately equalized. A fine one-two between Anthony Elanga and Neco Williams saw the Swedes intertwine in front of goal, with Wood curling into the far corner.
It was the Kiwi’s fourth goal since returning from a hamstring injury, but he was unable to add to his tally with a shot that hit the post a few minutes later, as Vicario’s superb deflection from Yates’ shot After the save, there was panic in the stadium.
If the home fans went into half-time worried that their team would drop more points in a Champions League race that Postecoglou refuses to concede, those fears were quickly allayed.
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First, Van de Ven fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area after a tenacious build-up from a Spurs corner. Maddison’s cross was then deflected by substitute Rodrigo Bentancur for Polo to slot into the goal. The margin of victory would have been even greater had Sels not made a great save to deflect Son Heung-min’s late shot off the post.
“The first half was very good,” Nuno said. Forest’s team is above the relegation zone only on goal difference. “We controlled Tottenham, played a good game, scored goals and had chances. Our big challenge is to repeat his 45 minutes for the whole game.”
