Latest Nottingham Forest news as Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds beaten 1-0 by Fulham at the City Ground
Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season came to an end as they lost 1-0 at home to Fulham courtesy of a controversial penalty decision.
Without Morgan Gibbs-White after his red card against Brighton and Hove Albion, Reds head coach Nuno Espirito Santo made three changes to his starting XI. Taiwo Awoniyi was one of the players to come in and almost marked his first league start of the campaign with a goal, going close with an acrobatic effort early on.
It was proving to be a tight affair, though, with clearcut chances few and far between for either side. Chris Wood fell foul of a VAR offside check as he had an effort chalked off just before the half-hour, then Alex Moreno had a shot from outside the box deflected wide as the teams went in level at the break.
Five minutes into the second half, though, the visitors took the lead. Referee Josh Smith pointed to the spot after being sent to his monitor following a VAR check on a challenge by Murillo on Andreas Pereira. Raul Jimenez put the penalty away, with Forest no doubt aggrieved that a similar challenge on Awoniyi in the first half had gone unpunished.
A VAR check for a potential penalty for a foul on Anthony Elanga came to nothing as the hosts continued not to get the rub of the green with the officials. It meant their unbeaten start to the league campaign came to an end after five games. Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players at the City Ground.
Ola Aina: Played some lovely balls into the box in the first half and set up Awoniyi’s early effort with a big long throw. Started to look a little leggy as the game went on. Rating: 6.5/10
Nikola Milenkovic: Clearly just loves defending. Cleared almost everything that came his way. His header teed up Wood for the offside goal in the first half. Looks very settled in the back line now. Rating: 7.5/10
Murillo: Has every right to feel hard done by over the penalty decision. Seemed a soft one to give, and even more so when taking the spot-kick shouts from Awoniyi and Elanga into account. Rating: 7/10
Alex Moreno: Wasn’t too far away from getting on the scoresheet with a deflected strike in the first half. Worked hard on an afternoon that proved tough going for the Reds. Rating: 6.5/10
Elliot Anderson: Asked to operate on the right, rather than the No.10 role most assumed he would take in Gibbs-White’s absence. Did his job pretty well, playing some neat balls. Versatility continues to prove incredibly useful. Rating: 7/10
Ryan Yates: A Ryan Yates type of game. Didn’t let a first half booking get in the way of doing his job as he kept scrapping away. Tried to find a breakthrough with a header from a Ward-Prowse free-kick. Rating: 7/10
James Ward-Prowse: Generally composed in what proved to be quite a tight affair. The Reds needed a spark, though, as they struggled to really cause their opponents problems. Lack of creativity throughout the team was an issue. Rating: 6.5/10
Nicolas Dominguez: Played on the left as Forest tried to stifle their opponents in the first half. Was always keen to get involved but the lack of natural width made for few chances for the hosts before the break. Rating: 6.5/10
Taiwo Awoniyi: Might have marked his first league start of the season in spectacular style with an early acrobatic effort that wasn’t too far away. Used his strength well at times but did seem to pick up a slight knock just before the break. Rating: 6/10
Chris Wood: Looked like he was going to get his fourth goal of the season until a VAR offside check got in the way. Didn’t really have many chances to make his mark after that. Rating: 6/10
Subs
Anthony Elanga (for Awoniyi, 46mins): Added a bit of energy and will feel he should have had a penalty, especially when compared to the one Fulham received. Perhaps Forest might have been better playing with wingers from the start. Rating: 7/10
Callum Hudson-Odoi (for Dominguez, 57mins): Wasn’t too far away with one of his trademark cut inside and let fly efforts. Not this time, though. This wasn’t the Reds’ day. Rating: 7/10
Jota Silva (for Anderson, 57mins): Tried his luck from range but was always going to take something special to beat the goalkeeper from there. Did his best to try to make an impact. Rating: 7/10
Ramon Sosa (for Ward-Prowse, 75mins): Couldn’t make the difference from off the bench on this occasion. Forest pushed for an equaliser, though. Rating: 6/10
Neco Williams (for Moreno, 81mins): Tried to push forward in the closing stages as the Reds desperately sought to get something from the game. Not the way they would have wanted their unbeaten run to end. Rating: 6/10
Subs not used: Miguel, Morato, Toffolo, Boly.
How would you rate the Forest boys against Fulham? Have your say in the comment section.
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