Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings: Anthony Elanga scores to beat Tottenham as Nottingham jump to third in the table

Anthony Elanga was the hero for Nottingham Forest as they jumped to third in the table. His goal in the first half proved to be the winner as Tottenham failed to reply. On a cold and wet boxing day eve, the hosts delivered the knockout punch piling more misery on the hosts. Ange Postecoglu’s side had a poor outing as they failed to put serious pressure on the hosts’ goal for a late equaliser.

The game resembled a basketball match early on as both sides went flying from end to end. Both sides were full of free-flowing footballers and enjoyed a lot of space on offer. Dejan Kulusevski was the creator-in-chief of Tottenham and Gibbs-White was making the telling contributions for Forest. Spurs looked blunt at times but Johnson sent a fine effort across goal as Sels pushed it away.

Nottingham then broke expertly as Gibbs-White slid Elanga in. The Swedish international beat Udogie for pace and poked home past Forster. Son then came the closest to equalising courtesy of a free-kick and was inches wide. The visitors failed to create meaningful chances in open play and went into the tunnel a goal down.

The hosts started the second half with more intent and Forster was forced into making a double intervention to put them at bay. Gibbs-White and Anderson were creating multiple chances to pin Tottenham back. Ange Postecoglu was fast running out of time to find answers. James Maddison was summoned from the bench and he nearly got his side level with a shot from outside the box.

There was really no sense of urgency from the Londoners as Nottingham were growing comfortable with their goal advantage and were happy to play the stop-start game. They defended extremely well to see out the game to continue their impressive form.

This win takes Nottingham to third place as their season gets even better. Nottingham visits Everton next as Tottenham take on Wolves at home on the same day. Ange Postecoglu’s side is in 11th place and could end up slipping even further if the teams below them step up. Time might be running out for the Australian manager.

Nottingham Forest Player Ratings vs Tottenham Hotspur

Goalkeeper

Matz Sels: 7/10- Did well to deny Brennan Johnson twice. The second save was particularly impressive as he denied a certain goal.

Defenders

Ola Aina: 6.5/10- Failed to get to grips with Son’s tenacity at times. Almost got his side’s second goal as he bombed forward.

Nikola Milenkovic: 7.5/10- The Serbian was strong as a rock to head away multiple crosses. Posed a strong threat from setpieces as well.

Murillo: 7/10- He put in a lot of crunching tackles and his imposing physical presence didn’t allow Solanke to have an easy time.

Neco Williams: 7/10- Was involved in an all-Welsh battle with Johnson. Johnson found pockets of spaces in behind but Williams did well to cover them.

Midfielders

Ryan Yates: 7/10- The captain put in a solid shift as Nottingham held a strong line in midfield. Held the fort under pressure late in the game.

Elliot Anderson: 7.5/10- The youngster is fine-tuning his game as a deep-lying midfielder. Tackled perfectly a couple of times and mistimed one to earn himself a yellow.

Anthony Elanga: 8/10- Elanga got on the goal side of Udogie and showed great composure to collect and dispatch Gibbs-White’s through ball.

Morgan Gibbs-White: 7.5/10- Played an inch-perfect pass to release Elanga for the opener. Created huge openings and was extremely purposeful with the ball.

Callum Hudson-Odoi: 6/10- Was the least involved in counter-attacks and looked sloppy. Was easily handled by Spence as he tried to cut in from the wing. He did make up for it with some crucial defensive work.

Attacker

Chris Wood: 6/10- The striker’s form didn’t translate into this game as he lost plenty of duels and had loose touches. He even misplaced the simplest of passes.

Substitutes

Morato: 6.5/10

James Ward-Prowse: 6/10

Jota Silva: 6/10

Taiwo Awoniyi: N/A

Ramon Sosa: N/A

Manager

Nuno Espirito Santo: 8/10- The ex-Tottenham manager had a good laugh and deservedly so. His current side has put in a performance worthy of any top 4 side. Clinical on the counter and excellent defensively. This team is built in Nuno’s image from the top.

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Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings vs Nottingham Forest

Goalkeeper

Fraser Forster: 6.5/10- The custodian had another shaky performance, especially with the ball at his feet. He spread himself to deny Elanga but couldn’t get anything as the shot flew past him. Another double save in the second half was impressive.

Defenders

Djed Spence: 5.5/10- He was more comfortable going forward rather than defending. Couldn’t contribute much offensively too. Received a second yellow out of frustration and denied his side a chance of any late come-back.

Radu Dragusin: 6.5/10- Enjoyed the duels with Wood and had great success. His willingness to chase the ball got him booked in the second half.

Archie Gray: 6/10- The youngster is playing an unfamiliar role but his passing ability is helping him adjust well.

Destiny Udogie: 5.5/10- Was beaten in a footrace by Elanga and it clearly had an impact on his overall game.

Midfielders

Rodrigo Bentancur: 5.5/10- Into the lineup after a seven-game ban and it clearly showed as he was very rusty early on.

Pape Sarr: 6/10- The Senegalese midfielder failed to play his natural game as Nottingham’s midfield duo was haggling with him.

Brennan Johnson: 6.5/10- The winger had two golden chances to give them the lead in the first half but was denied by Sels.

Dejan Kulusevski: 6/10- Started in the number 10 role ahead of Maddison but struggled for fluency despite multiple chances.

Heung-Min Son: 5.5/10- Son’s best attempt of the game came from a free-kick as he failed to get the better of Aina. Was hauled off rather unsurprisingly.

Attacker

Dominic Solanke: 5/10- He was well-handled by the centre-back duo of Nottingham. Did drop deep to make some play but the ball didn’t stick for him.

Substitutes

James Maddison: 6/10

Lucas Bergvall: 6/10

Pedro Porro: 6/10

Timo Werner: N/A

Yves Bissouma: N/A

Manager

Ange Postecoglu: 5/10- Tottenham’s injury struggles are well documented but there is no excuse for this performance from Ange’s side. They were absolutely naive going forward unlike his side. The manager is looking lost on the touchline too as the substitutes are unable to make an impact. The Australian has to find answers soon or the board might start looking elsewhere.

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