Nottingham Forest extended their winning run to six games in a row with a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Wolves.
The Tricky Trees got off the mark early through a goal from Wolves’ academy graduate Morgan Gibbs-White. After that, the Old Gold made their presence felt, frequently creating chances but squandering them.
They were made to pay for that, as Forest doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time after a quick transition from defence to attack saw inform striker Chris Wood bag his 12th goal of the season.
Vítor Pereira’s team spent the majority of the second period searching for the elusive goal to get back into the game, but it never came, and substitute Taiwo Awoniyi rolled the ball into an empty net in the game’s dying embers to guarantee Forest the three points.
The result keeps Forest in touching distance of Premier League leaders Liverpool and draws them level on points with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. Not only that, but it gave Nuno Espírito Santo a win at the ground he used to call home.
So, yet another impressive result for the East Midlands side, but what did we learn from it?
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Morgan Gibbs-White thrives in a hostile environment
Morgan Gibbs-White first made his name as a young prodigy with Wolves nearly a decade ago, with the Molineux faithful believing the local lad was a star in the making and destined to achieve greatness with the Old Gold.
As it turned out, they were right about the quality Gibbs-White possessed, but they were wrong about where he would ply his trade. Gibbs-White swapped the West Midlands for the East Midlands a little over two years ago and has never looked back. Becoming a fan favourite at the City Ground.
With the change of club has come a guarantee of boos and jeers every time who to playing against Wolves, and this trip was no different, with the fans who once adored him now voicing their displeasure at his mere presence on their ground.
Many players who are forced into such a volatile atmosphere could be forgiven for shying away from such an occasion, maybe not wanting to receive the ball due to boos and attention it brings.
Not Gibbs-White, though; from minute one, the England international was desperate to get on the ball and make something happen for his team, and he did so unbelievably quickly, scoring his fourth Premier League goal of the season after just seven minutes.
But it was not just the goal the 24-year-old scored that made his performance so impressive and talismanic; his incredible work rate off the ball was key to guaranteeing his side the clean sheet and three points, frequently hassling Wolves’ defenders and midfielders.
To add to all this, he put in the display in front of England boss Thomas Tuchel, who had to be impressed and may now be very keen to make sure Gibbs-White can build upon the two caps he got for his country under Lee Carsley.
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Forest win ugly
A 3-0 scoreline suggests that Nuno Espírito Santo’s side cantered to victory against a side battling relegation, but that could not be further from the truth.
For large portions of this game, Wolves were much the better team and really should have gotten something from the match; instead, they left Molineux empty-handed. While some may say that it says more about Wolves than it does Forest, the reality is that the Tricky Trees now have the ability to win without playing particularly well.
Having the capacity to do that will be vital in their quest for European football as we enter the second half of the Premier League season.
Many teams in the division will be upping their game when they face Forest, so Nuno’s team will likely spend most of their remaining games under the cosh and under substantial pressure.
So, this ability to soak up pressure and win without dominating is going to be hugely important, as it was in Wolverhampton on Monday night.
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No team is better in transition than Forest
All three of Forest’s goals against Wolves came with them having or winning possession deep in their own half and quickly getting the ball upfield and scoring when their opponent are at their least organised.
It’s not too far-fetched to say that nobody in the Premier League does this better than Nottingham Forest. For example, Forest’s first goal, Matz Sels has the ball in his own box, and there is no reason for Wolves to even consider the chance they might be a goal down in the next 20 seconds, and yet a couple of passes and some great movement from the Tricky Tree’s more offensive players and Gibbs-White had the ball in the back of the net.
These things do not just happen by chance. This is all very deliberate from Nuno Espírito Santo and his coaching team, and this side have become incredibly good at it and has rapidly developed it into fine art and something opponents have a very difficult time coping with.
Wolves frequently had no answers to Forest’s transitions, and every time Nuno’s team scored he knew it would draw Wolves out further and create more space for his side to exploit on the transition.
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Matz Sels is the best goalkeeper in the league at the moment
Nottingham Forest's current winning streak of six Premier League games in a row is supremely impressive, but what is even more extraordinary is that they have kept clean sheets in their last four games.
While the defence and the two midfielders who frequently sit in front of the back four deserve some of the plaudits, Belgian goalkeeper Matz Sels deserves a large amount of the credit, and this game against Wolves proved it.
For large sections of this game, Wolves were in control and frequently creating good chances at goal, but the former Strasbourg made a staggering five saves to ensure his side remained in the lead, one of which was from a point-blank effort from Jørgen Strand Larsen that was simply breathtaking.
At this point, the experienced shotstopper is essential to Forest’s success and should be in the conversation for the best keeper in the league.
No goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets than Sels this campaign, with a remarkable nine clean sheets in 20 league games, and very few have made more saves than him.
It is certainly not outlandish to say Sels should be considered one of the, if not the best, keeper in the Premier League at the moment, and Forest’s meteoric rise would not be possible without him.
