Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood scored his 19th Premier League goal of the season in 2-1 away victory at Tottenham Hotspur which sent his side third in the table on Monday.
Back-to-back league defeats had slowed Forest’s push for Champions League qualification but they got back on track thanks mainly to a superb start in north London.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side took the lead after five minutes when a corner fell to Elliot Anderson who found the net with a deflected drive.
New Zealander Wood then had a goal disallowed by VAR for a marginal offside decision before doubling Forest’s lead with a glancing header from Anthony Elanga’s cross in the 16th minute.
Tottenham improved after their calamitous start and Richarlison rewarded their pressure with a powerful header to beat Matz Sels in the 87th to set up a nervy finale.
Forest hung on though to move above Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United in the race for a top-five finish with 60 points. Europa League semifinalists Tottenham are 16th with 37 after an 18th league defeat of the season.
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Tottenham could still salvage their season by winning the Europa League, but a first home league defeat by Forest since 1997 will increase the pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou, who is in danger of leading the north London club to their worst Premier League points haul since they earned 44 in 1997-98.
After their dream start, Forest were content to cede possession, defend deeply and rely on counter-attacks — a formula that has served them well this season.
Tottenham did carve out plenty of opportunities with Wilson Odobert a threat out wide and Richarlison twice thwarted by excellent saves while Harry Toffolo made a superb goal-line clearance to keep out Dejan Kulusevski’s header.
There was clear relief at the end among the Forest ranks and with a reasonably comfortable run-in to the season, they are now well-placed to return to Europe’s elite club competition that they won back-to-back in 1979 and 1980.
Their season could get even better next weekend as they face Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinal.
