Nottingham Forest 7 (SEVEN) Brighton 0: Elanga, Wood oustanding as ‘special player’ caution rings true

Will Ford
Forest Brighton
Nottingham Forest 7-0 Brighton.

As Evangelos Marinakis stuck his tongue out while the Nottingham Forest fans chanted “we want eight, we want eight” we attempted to take stock of what we had just watched and failed miserably. Best of luck to the Forest fans, who have an awful lot of Saturday left to celebrate one of the most ridiculous Premier League results in history.

“Our priority in this transfer window was clear: to retain our players,” Nuno Espirito Santo said ahead of the game. “We have a talented and good squad, but if there is a piece missing, it has to be something really special. It’s not easy.”

Resisting the temptation to bolster the squad in their bid to continue their charge for Champions League qualification speaks to the Portuguese manager’s cool demeanour, with his composure and self-assurance standing firm despite the 5-0 spanking by Bournemouth last week which would have seen less centred managers hit the transfer panic button.

The response to that humbling defeat here was stunning, as the Forest players to a man worked to support Nuno’s claim that only “a really special” footballer could improve this team, with the top four interlopers enjoying the ideal combination of being a side that’s greater than the sum of its parts while also having outstanding individual talent to call upon.

Matz Sels has the most clean sheets (10) in the Premier League, and rushed out to brilliantly deny Yankuba Minteh early on before produced a stunning fingertip save to divert a Danny Welbeck drive onto the bar. But he wasn’t overly troubled besides thanks in large part to the wonderful centre-back duo sitting in front of him.

Murillo, who’s made the most clearances (141) and the most blocks (48) in the top flight, was feathering delightful switches of play onto dinner plates and dribbling into midfield, while Nikola Milenkovic – arguably the Premier League signing of the season – stood as the impenetrable wall alongside him.

Elliot Anderson is currently in the Premier League team of the season, though his five assists has now been usurped by teammate Anthony Elanga, who got three here to take him to eight – bettered only by Mohamed Salah (13), Bukayo Saka (10) and Antonee Robinson (9) – each of them brilliant, in a sensational performance that will have Manchester United fans shaking their heads.

The first was a perfectly delivered corner to the front post for Morgan Gibbs-White to flick in expertly with his head, the second saw him beat Tariq Lamptey before drifting the ball directly onto the bonce of Chris Wood, who couldn’t miss, and the third was the best of the lot as he drove at the Brighton defence and then past Lewis Dunk, before squaring the ball to Wood for the simplest of tap-ins.

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He made it all look very simple, and in many ways it is: run at defenders; get to byline; deliver. It’s perfect for Wood, who completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot midway through the second half and is now behind only Mohamed Salah (19), Erling Haaland (18) and level with Alexander Isak on 17 goals, and would no doubt be thoroughly enjoyed by Rasmus Hojlund, who’s consistently afforded the excuse of not getting the service at Old Trafford that the former United winger now provides so consistently at The City Ground.

Gibbs-White was also excellent, so typically that we need not mention his performance levels these days, Neco Williams and Ola Aina were solid in defence and bust a gut to support attacks whenever opportunity arose, while the return of midfielders Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare further supports Nuno’s inclination to stick with what he’s got.

Because bringing in any player – even a “special” one – carries the risk of rocking the boat rather than a stadium that was shaking as Williams made it SIX and Jota Silva made it SEVEN. Forest are now level on points with Arsenal in second place, in a position that feels rather less false now if it did before, thanks to a wonderful performance and absurd victory worthy of a team playing Champions League football. What. A. Win.