Tottenham Hotspur moved into fourth in the Premier League table following a 3-1 victory over relegation-battling Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Fantastic second-half finishes from Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro helped Ange Postecoglou’s side leapfrog Aston Villa, on whom they still have in match in hand, into the top four.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
37 | +20 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
37 | +10 | 63 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
37 | +13 | 60 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
37 | +21 | 57 |
Spurs had been pegged back in the first half, with Chris Wood – who also hit the woodwork – cancelling Murillo’s earlier own-goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where they eventually claimed an eighth win in nine matches.
Spurs are now ahead of Villa, who drew with Brentford on Saturday, on goal difference, which is the metric that also keeps 17th-placed Forest outside of the bottom three.
How the match unfolded
Forest defender Murillo went agonisingly close to scoring his first senior goal in the 11th minute, with an audacious attempt from 80 yards that floated inches wide of the target.
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However, his intervention at the other end four minutes later put Forest behind as the Brazilian inadvertently turned Timo Werner’s cross beyond Matz Sels.
But, after Sels’ magnificent reflex save denied former Forest winger Brennan Johnson, the visitors responded in the 27th minute, with Wood drilling home from Anthony Elanga’s deflected cross.
The in-form striker should have scored again seven minutes later, but rattled the post from four yards out after Guglielmo Vicario had parried Ryan Yates’ shot into his path.
With Postecoglou having made changes at the break, Spurs looked more purposeful after the restart and regained the lead within seven minutes – Van de Van lashing a thumping drive into the roof of the net.
Another fine strike from a defender gave the hosts breathing space just before the hour, with Rodrigo Bentancur helping James Maddison’s cross into the path of Porro, who fired in on the volley.
Forest almost capitalised on some nervy Spurs defending late on, though ultimately it was the hosts who went closer in the latter stages – Sels making another fine save to tip Son Heung-min’s strike onto a post.
Postecoglou’s side remain without a clean sheet in the Premier League on home soil since October. However, the defence certainly came up trumps for the hosts at the other end.
Van de Ven’s thunderbolt was a stupendous finish, while Porro’s persistence in front of goal also finally paid off – his strike brought up his first league goal of the season, from what was his 42nd shot in the competition.
Wood key to Forest's hopes of safety
The goals of Wood could prove a crucial factor as Forest battle to preserve their Premier League status.
His well-taken equaliser represented the second time in his top-flight career that he has netted in four successive matches, though he should have added to that when hitting a post soon after.
Wood’s 12 goals this season have all come from open play – putting him level with Mohamed Salah in that regard, and ahead of the likes of Alexander Isak and Darwin Nunez.
The New Zealander is providing the major hope for Nuno Espirito Santo, who suffered a miserable return to one of his former clubs. And the Forest head coach must find a way to fix matters at the other end when it comes to defending set-pieces.
Van de Ven’s strike from a well-worked corner was the 21st goal Forest have conceded in this manner during the season – more than any other team.
Club reports
Spurs report | Nott'm Forest report
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Nuno Espirito Santo became the third former Spurs manager to lose their first visit to face Spurs in the Premier League, after Martin Jol and Harry Redknapp; the previous two prior to today both won (Tim Sherwood and Mauricio Pochettino).
Both teams have scored in each of Spurs’ last 12 home Premier League matches (F26 A19) with only Blackpool (17 between August 2010 and April 2011) and Brighton (May 2023 and December 2023) ever seeing longer such runs in the competition.
With Van de Ven and Porro both scoring today, Spurs have now netted 11 Premier League goals via defenders so far this season, the joint-most in the competition, alongside Arsenal. Indeed, Kieran Trippier (11) is the only defender to be directly involved in more Premier League goals than Porro this season (8 – 1 goal, 7 assists).
Wood has scored 12 goals for Forest in the Premier League this season, with only Stan Collymore (22 in 1994/95) and Bryan Roy (13 in 1994/95) netting more in a single campaign for them; the New Zealander was the first Forest player to net in four consecutive appearances in the competition since Taiwo Awoniyi in August 2023 (7 in a row).
