6 January 2025
Wolves 0 Nott’m Forest 3
Two teams who have found some form of late met at Molineux as Wolves welcomed Nottingham Forest. Vitor Pereira had made a perfect start to his tenure as manager, getting his side out of the bottom three in the process. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have bigger aspirations as they sat third in the Premier League table and were dreaming of European football once again.
The hosts came into the game full of confidence, although they were missing star player Matheus Cunha who was out injured. Wolves cannot afford to have such key players out and came into this match under-strength as a result. It would take some performance to take points off high-flying Forest as a result. Wolves had their work cut-out in this one.
Former Wolves player Gibbs-White was booed whenever he touched the ball. The home fans seemed to forget that the club decided to cash in on the player rather than him forcing a move to their not-so-local neighbours. However, as an attack for the hosts broke down, Forest went through the gears rapidly and turned defence into attack.
It was the Forest talisman who strode through the middle of the park before laying it out wide to Elanga. He returned the favour and Gibbs-White struck his shot into the bottom corner of the goal to give the visitors the lead with only seven minutes on the clock. It was the worst possible start for Pereira’s side, they now had a huge mountain to climb.
The visitors then gave the ball away cheaply in their own half. Hwang made a beeline for the penalty area, dummying a shot to force the defender to commit. With Sels looking to narrow his angles also, he squared it to Strand Larsen, who had to score. With only Murillo in front of him, the striker saw his shot blocked on the line by the Forest defender to deny the hosts an equaliser.
It was a monumental chance for Pereira’s side and if we have learnt one thing about Nottingham Forest this season, they do not give out such chances as regularly as previous seasons. Even at this early stage of the game, it seemed this chance was going to be something that Strand Larsen would be left rueing for some time.
Gomes then did well out wide before putting a teasing ball into the box. His cross was inch-perfect onto the head of Strand Larsen, but Sels beat his effort away from goal. The Norwegian’s effort was straight at the Forest keeper, either side of him and it would have been an equaliser for the hosts. They were proving wasteful in front of their own fans.
Aina then got forward for the visitors as he looked to cut a cross into the box from the byline. It struck the arm of Ait-Nouri and Forest went berserk demanding a penalty for handball. The referee waved away their protests and the subsequent VAR review cleared the incident. His arm was not in a natural position and he even moved it further away from his body to initiate contact.
This is the problem with the video technology, it is only as effective as the person sat in the studio at Stockley Park making the decisions. We have seen penalties given for far less this season and you felt that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had good reason to feel hard done by. It was a massive let-off for Vitor Pereira’s side at Molineux.
It seemed to put more wind in the sails of the visitors. Hudson-Odoi broke down the left flank, beating all in front of him with his pace. When he got into the box, in a wide position, he cut it back for Wood who had managed to work some space. The Kiwi striker diverted it into the far corner to double Nottingham Forest’s lead and give them some breathing space.
This game was non-stop action after the interval. The visitors piled forward again but as the move broke down it was the hosts’ turn to look to punish their opponents on the counter-attack. Guedes made some ground with his lung-bursting run through the middle, eventually laying the ball off into the path of Strand Larsen once again.
He shifted it onto his right foot and let fly from the edge of the box. Sels had to make a good stop to keep his effort out. The Forest keeper was constantly making critical saves for his team this season, making his transfer fee of just over £6m seem like the bargain of the century. After struggling so long to find a decent keeper, there was no doubting that Espirito Santo had got his man.
Deep into added time, the visitors hoofed the ball clear to prevent another Wolves attack. The ball was picked up by Hudson-Odoi, who threaded a pass into Ward-Prowse in the box. As the keeper looked to close him down, he unselfishly squared it to Awoniyi to tap home to make it a convincing victory for Nottingham Forest on the road.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were now just six points behind leaders Liverpool, level with Arsenal, something nobody would have dreamed of before the season. What is even more intriguing now is that in their next game, they welcome the league leaders to the City Ground, where they could reduce that gap even further with victory.
Meanwhile, Vitor Pereira’s side remained just outside of the bottom three, now only on goal difference. It is looking like being a competitive Premier League campaign at both the top and bottom of the table. Things seem to be changing with each game week, making it must-see viewing for the fans all over the globe.
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