Nottingham Forest 0–2 Brentford Player Ratings: The Bees Dent Forest’s Hope for UCL Qualification in Premier League
Nottingham Forest’s hope of qualifying for next year’s UEFA Champions League was squashed after they suffered a disappointing 0-2 defeat against Brentford. The home side, after this game, is now two points behind the qualification spot.
They were deprived of solidifying their spot at the top half of the table after goals from Brentford’s Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa. The home crowd was loud and enthusiastic at the start of the game as they wanted to lead their squad to victory in tonight’s Champions League qualifying match, but were silenced with the loss at the end of the full 90 minutes.
During the initial moments of the game, Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard made a fabulous run from the left side of the pitch and feinted a couple of times before delivering a beautiful curling ball to the back post. Schade jumped high and headed back across the goal, but nobody was there to turn it over till Murillo cleared it.
In the 18th minute, Van den Berg met a well-taken free-kick from Damsgaard, but Sels made a fine stop to hold the score at 0-0. Due to the Bees’ dominance in the match, Forest is trying to find their rhythm in the opening 20 minutes.
Brentford’s Wissa was crucial to the away team’s most of the attacks as he put the Forest’s defence under pressure. As Aina went down the right once and drew Lewis-Potter into a last-minute challenge, the entire stadium was in chaos. OFF, OFF, OFF! The referee shook his head in response to the Forest supporters’ shout.
Around the half-hour mark, Anderson drilled a crossfield ball like an arrow from left to right. Wood nods it home as Anthony Elanga leaps high to return to the danger zone. Wood’s header, unfortunately for the home team, is deflected wide of the left post. A few minutes away from the end of the first half, Nathan Collins had the freedom to stroll out of the defence and pick the long ball over the top to find Kevin Schane, who sneaks between Aina and Milenkovic to cause trouble and hits it past Sels to give the bees the lead in the game.
Two teams played a variety of football games for an exhausting forty-five minutes. Compared to the Bees, Forest was sitting with a much lower offensive flurry, and a string of early yellow cards didn’t appear to fit with the game’s overall flow.
Seven minutes into the second half, Anderson, who lurks to the left and on the edge of the space, was baited into a cross. Wood misses his in-swinging ball, which narrowly passes over his head. Without touching the far post, it went out of play. Around the 53rd minute, Elanga nips inside the full-back Kayode and dances past van den Berg too, only to see his shot pushed away firmly by Flekken.
Around the 64th minute, Wood had one of his best opportunities when Aina clipped a pass in after glancing at the intimidating forward at the back post. He was only able to divert his header wide of the left post because he struggled to get off the ground. Schade ran down the left inside a couple of tired tackles to set up the Cameroonian, but Mbuemo’s shot was blocked by Yates.
Brentford goalkeeper, Mark Flekken, puts a long ball to find Yoane Wissa, who delicately chips Sels from yet another long and it was a sublime finish to double the lead for the away side. Around the end of the game, Yarmoliuk sprinted across the face of the penalty area and supplied him just inside the box and to the right of the goal, his left foot curled and floated over the bar.
Let’s have a look at the Nottingham Forest vs Brentford Player Ratings.
Nottingham Forest Player Ratings
GK – Matz Sels – 6.0/10
The Belgian goalkeeper did not have a great game, making just two saves in the game. He conceded two goals and was decent in his distribution.
RB – Neco Williams – 6.7/10
The Welsh left-back did well sitting back in the defence and also running into the defence during the counterattacks. He maintained a passing accuracy of 87 per cent and made four passes into the final third. Apart from that, he made four clearances and seven defensive actions in the game.
CB – Nikola Milenkovic – 6.1/10
He was completely confused, which caused his team to concede the first goal, a few minutes before the first half. He was good with his passing and was involved in seven defensive actions for the game.
CB – Murillo – 6.9/10
The Brazilian defender had the most tackles in the game and also had three shots on goal. He maintained a passing accuracy of 82 per cent and was involved in eight defensive actions.
LB – Ola Aina – 7.0/10
Completely failed to mark Schade as he could easily sneak between him and Milenkovic to find the back of the net. He maintained a passing accuracy of 79 per cent and also helped the team create a couple of chances in attack.
CM – Ryan Yates – 6.1/10
The English midfielder was decent in the game and had only a single shot from a long distance that was off target. He was involved in six defensive actions and made four recoveries for his side.
CM – Elliott Anderson – 6.9/10
The defensive midfielder had a decent game, trying to control the tempo of the game, and he somewhat succeeded until he was substituted around the 61st minute. He had a shot from the left corner of the box, making the opposition goalkeeper work. He maintained a passing accuracy of 81 per cent and made nine recoveries for Nottingham Forest.
AM – Morgan Gibbs-White – 6.5/10
The attacking midfielder did not have a great game, considering the season he has been having. He had only one shot on the goal, which was blocked by a defender. He created a few opportunities for his team, but those were not favourable enough to open the scoring.
LW – Callum Hudson-Odoi – 6.3/10
The English winger was taken off after the first half as he failed to provide the spark on the left side that he has been providing all season. He had a passing accuracy of 87 per cent and won just a single duel in the game
RW – Anthony Elanga- 7.0/10
Switched to the left flank after the first half and was ferocious for the Brentford defenders. He created the most number of chances in the game, along with being the most fouled player as well. He had a couple of shots, and it was very difficult for the goalie to save.
CF – Chris Wood – 6.1/10
Till the first half, Wood only touched the ball thrice in the Brentford box. He had two shots on goal during the full-time and was not able to turn the tide for Santo’s side.
SUB- Nicolas Dominguez- 6.5/10
Dominguez is substituted for the ineffectual Hudson-Odoi by a Forest sub. Dominguez’s steely manner has won him over Santo, who has trusted him enough to use him in 34 games in all competitions.
SUB- Taiwo Awoniyi- 6.2/10
Anderson, the midfielder, is replaced by Awoniyi. Due to Wood’s outstanding goal-scoring performances this season, the bulky striker has been forced to play second fiddle.
SUB- Jota Silva- 6.0/10
Santo substitutes Silva for Gibbs-White in midfield in an attempt to partially slow down Brentford’s momentum.
SUB- Ibrahim Sangare- 6.5/10
With Forest substituting Sangare for additional legs in the last fifteen minutes, Aina, who is just recovering from an injury, has earned a break after spending the whole evening up and down the wing.
SUB- Ramon Sosa- N/A
Manager – Nuno Espirito Santo – 5.5/10
The manager would be disappointed by his team’s performance and how it squandered the chance to qualify for next year’s UCL. Forest were mostly pinned down by the Bees and could not convert those into transition opportunities to hit the opposition with the fierce counter-attacks.
Brentford Player Ratings
GK – Mark Flekken – 8.2/10
The Dutch goalkeeper had a good game, making five saves in the game and also managing to keep a clean sheet. He assisted with the second goal for his team.
RB – Michael Kayode – 7.5/10
The Italian right-back had a good game running up and down the track, helping the team both in defence as well as attack. He had a shot on goal and was involved in 11 defensive actions.
CB – Nathan Collins – 8.1/10
Assisted the opener for his side and was solid in the defence. He was involved in 13 defensive actions and made 11 clearances for his side.
CB – Sepp van den Berg – 6.8/10
The 23-year-old defender had a strong performance in defence, maintaining a passing percentage of 93. He won four duels in the game and made three recoveries.
LB – Keane Lewis-Potter – 6.4/10
He was taken off after the first half after a decent game. He had 18 touches in all, and the manager would have expected a bit more from the English full-back.
DM – Christian Norgaard – 7.3/10
The Danish defensive midfielder was solid, controlling the ball in the middle of the park. He maintained a passing accuracy of 84% and was involved in three defensive actions.
DM – Yegor Yarmolyuk – 7.8/10
The Ukrainian midfielder created a couple of chances in the attack and was good in the middle of the park. He was involved in nine defensive actions and won six duels in the game.
RW – Bryan Mbeumo – 7.9/10
The Cameroonian was fierce from the right side of the wing and took three shots at the goal. He was not that good with his passing, as he squandered possession a lot of times.
CAM – Mikkel Damsgaard – 7.0/10
He was the creative soul for the team and always disturbed the opposition with his pinpoint crosses and deadliest free kicks. He maintained a passing accuracy of 75 per cent and made nine passes into the final third.
LW – Kevin Schade – 8.1/10
The German attacker had a great game for the team and was always pressuring the Nottingham Forest defence. Scored the first goal just a few minutes before the end of the first half. He recovered five balls and won five duels in the game.
ST – Yoane Wissa – 7.5/10
He scored the second goal after a beautiful long ball from the goalkeeper. He had a couple of shots on target and was spot on with them.
SUB- Rico Henry- 6.0/10
The ineffective Keane Lewis-Potter was taken off to bring on Rico Henry as Nuno Espirito looked to change the score line of the game
SUB- Mathias Jensen- 6.5/10
Jensen, another player who contributes to the club’s strong Scandinavian heritage, replaces Schade.
Kristoffer Vassbakk Ajer- N/A
Yunus Emre Konak- N/A
Manager – Thomas Frank – 7/10
Frank would be happy with the way his team played. They played courageous football, always pressurising the defenders of Forest, and they succeeded easily.
Mark Flekken is Sportsdunia’s Man of the Match for this game.
FAQs
When was Nottingham Forest vs Brentford?
The Premier League tie between Nottingham Forest and Brentford took place on Thursday, May 01, 2025, at the City Ground.
What was the score of Nottingham Forest vs Brentford?
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brentford
Who was the Man of the Match in Nottingham Forest vs Brentford?
Mark Flekken was the Man of the Match in Nottingham Forest vs Brentford.
Who was the Worst Player in Nottingham Forest vs Brentford?
Chris Wood was the Worst Player in Nottingham Forest vs Brentford.