Terrific': Brian Laws spots genius Nuno Espirito Santo tactic that won Nottingham Forest the game vs Brentford

12/21/2024 02:00 PM

Nuno Espirito Santo delivered Nottingham Forest fans an early Christmas present, seeing their side beat Brentford 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Forest beat Brentford thanks to goals either side of the break from Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga, leaving Espirito Santo’s side sitting third in the Premier League table.

There were plenty of performances in the Forest squad that caught the eye, with Aina praised by Forest fans for his overall performance and Murillo hailed by Lewis Jones who claimed the centre-back could ‘play anywhere’.

Arguably, though, the most impressive performance of the whole game was that of the Forest manager himself, with club legend Brian Laws picking out one crucial detail in Espirito Santo’s game plan that made the difference.

Brian Laws praises Nuno Espirito Santo’s tactical change

Reporting on the game for BBC Nottingham Sport, Laws was in awe of the Forest coaching staff’s decision to play with a five-at-the-back system to combat Brentford, allowing Aina and Neco Williams at wing back to thrive.

Laws said: “Nuno’s [Espirito Santo] definitely done his homework for sure. The wing-back helps you spring from a five at the back to a seven going forward.”

Forest beat Villa using a 4-2-3-1 system, which Espirito Santo likely tweaked due to the fitness of preferred midfielder, Ryan Yates.

Rather than just switching out Yates for another midfielder, the Portuguese coach dropped Morgan Gibbs-White deeper and brought in Morato as the third centre-back, with Gibbs-White especially helping Forest spring counterattacks.

Undoubtedly, though, the tactical tweak benefitted Forest’s wing-backs the most, with both Aina and Williams starring against Brentford.

Nottingham Forest’s wing-backs were crucial vs Brentford

Obviously Aina will take most of the headlines for his goal, but Williams on the left side was just as important to Forest’s win.

Williams broke down the line and picked out the arriving Aina to drill the ball home, emphasising how right Espirito Santo was to prefer the Welshman over Alex Moreno.

Both played crucial roles defensively too, with Williams making five clearances to Aina’s six and seven defensive recoveries between them.

Williams and Aina both completed six passes each into the Forest’s final third, providing brilliant creativity for a Forest squad that saw most of their joy in the game come from counterattacks.