Nuno proved Chris Sutton wrong in 11 minutes during Nottingham Forest win vs Liverpool
09/16/2024 09:00 AM
Nuno Espirito Santo masterminded a wonderful Nottingham Forest win over Liverpool on Saturday.
It was the first time the Reds have won at the famous stadium since 1969 and Espirito Santo did something that not even Brian Clough was able to do.
Winning at Anfield is something that not many teams have been able to do at all in recent years but without Jurgen Klopp, perhaps Forest took advantage of some early transitional issues under Arne Slot.
Callum Hudson-Odoi scored his maiden goal of the campaign against Liverpool to stun the home crowd and help Forest towards a huge three points.
With Espirito Santo getting his game plan spot on, he proved a lot of his harshest critics wrong during the memorable Anfield clash.
Nuno Espirito Santo proves Chris Sutton wrong during clash with Liverpool
How pundits can change their minds. In the space of six minutes, Forest introduced both Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga into the fray – and it paid dividends.
The two wingers were introduced after both players were surprisingly dropped to the bench by Espirito Santo but still made a huge impact on the match at the weekend.
When they were introduced, Chris Sutton took to BBC Sport to share his concern about the substitutes – feeling they would benefit Liverpool more than Forest.
He said live on BBC Sport: “I think this is a gamble from Nuno Espirito Santo, he has more attacking players on – there will be more space for Liverpool to capitalise.”
Elanga and Hudson-Odoi combined to set up the winning moment during the match and after the latter had fired the Reds in front, Sutton was in the mood for backing down.
He said just 11 minutes later on BBC Sport: “Nuno Espirito Santo gambled with his subs.
“Anthony Elanga with a brilliant crossfield ball to Callum Hudson-Odoi, Conor Bradley lets him come inside but the finish is brilliant.
“Hudson-Odoi bends the ball into the far corner and Allison is nowhere near it.
“This is smash and grab from Forest.”
Espirito Santo quietly going about his business at Forest
The head coach wasn’t the first choice of too many Forest fans when he replaced the very likeable Steve Cooper back in December.
He was dealt a pretty drab hand last year in fairness and he did well to keep the Reds in the Premier League with a run of solid results towards the end of the campaign.
In fairness, however, the club did get lucky that the three relegated teams were so bad and some of the pundit predictions before a ball was kicked were probably just about accurate.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 5 | Aston VillaAston Villa | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| 6 | BrightonBrighton | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 8 | ChelseaChelsea | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 9 | BrentfordBrentford | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
However, Espirito Santo doesn’t get caught up with the noise. He’s not a man for long press conferences, he merely wants the team he puts out to improve every single week and do the best for the football club.
The head coach was clearly delighted that his game plan worked to perfection against Liverpool.
Now, he deserves respect unanimously and any talks around him not being the man for the job should be dismissed as nonsense and support should be shown from everyone associated with Forest.
