LONDON: Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood scored his 19th Premier League goal of the season in a 2-1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur to help his side climb back into third place in the league on Monday morning.
Back-to-back defeats have hampered Forest’s bid to qualify for the Champions League and they started the day in sixth place but their challenge has been shaken up again following a strong start in north London.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team took the lead after five minutes when a corner kick landed on Elliot Anderson’s feet in the corner of the penalty area and his powerful shot found the net.
New Zealand striker Wood then had his goal disallowed by VAR for offside before doubling Forest’s lead with a powerful header following Anthony Elanga’s cross in the 16th minute.
Tottenham improved after a poor start and Richarlison saw their pressure pay off with a powerful header past Matz Sels in the 87th minute.
Forest defended that position to leapfrog Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United in the race for a top-five finish with 60 points.
Tottenham, who qualified for the Europa League semi-finals, are in 16th place with 37 points after suffering their 18th defeat in the league this season.
“This result is big for us. It’s a big game to come and try to get three points. The players proved what we’re capable of and we’re happy,” said Anderson.
“We really needed it after two defeats. We came back and won again so it’s a big thing for us. We have to keep believing until the last game. We will keep putting pressure on.”
Tottenham, who beat Eintracht Frankfurt on aggregate on Thursday, could salvage their season by winning the Europa League and claiming their first trophy since 2008.
But a first league home defeat to Forest since 1997, under the former Tottenham manager who was sacked after just four months in 2021, has increased the pressure on Ange Postecoglou who is in danger of guiding the north London club to their worst league points tally since they collected 44 points in 1997-98.