Wolverhampton, Jan 7: Nottingham Forest beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 away from home and moved within six points of Premier League leader Liverpool on Monday.
First-half goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood and an injury-time third from Taiwo Awoniyi sent Forest to a sixth straight league win. Nuno Espírito Santo’s men are tied on points with Arsenal, which is above them on goal difference.
The game took place on the 50th anniversary of Brian Clough’s appointment at the City Ground and the old maestro would have been thrilled to see his team get off to the perfect start with a goal after six minutes.
Former Wolves midfielder Gibbs-White combined on the counterattack with Anthony Elanga before stroking the ball into the bottom corner from 14 meters.
Both sides looked to play football and Wolves came into the game. However, Norwegian striker Jørgen Strand Larsen rued missing a couple of clear chances and he was punished two minutes before halftime when Wood doubled the visitor’s lead.
The big New Zealander put away Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cut back to grab his 12th goal of the season and his eighth in 13 league appearances against Wolves.
Forest dominated the second half and Wood’s late replacement Awoniyi made it 3-0 in stoppage time.
The result set up a mouth-watering fixture between first and third next week, when Forest hosts Liverpool on Jan. 14.
It also brought Forest’s European dreams a tiny bit closer. Wood said the squad’s focus was keeping up the rich form that would make that happen for the first time since the 1990s.
“It is about consistency and doing what we have been doing extremely well already this season,” Wood said. “We’re not giving up halfway through the season, we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing in the first 19 matches.
The defeat was the first for recently appointed Wolves coach Vitor Pereira and left it fourth from bottom.
It was “one of those games where you feel like the result could’ve been the other way,” Wolves defender Matt Doherty said. “Teams are ruthless. You can’t make mistakes and we made a couple of them and we got punished.”
The victory leaves Forest in third place, tied on points with Arsenal but behind on goal difference, and sets up an exciting clash with Liverpool at the City Ground on January 14.
Forest’s European hopes are inching closer, with Chris Wood emphasizing the importance of maintaining their form in the remaining matches.
Meanwhile, Wolves, under recently appointed coach Vitor Pereira, suffered a disappointing loss and remain dangerously close to the relegation zone. Despite their resilience, defensive errors proved costly.
Wolves defender Matt Doherty reflected on the match, acknowledging the team’s mistakes and the ruthless punishment they received.The stage is now set for Forest to test their mettle against the league leaders in a crucial fixture next week, while Wolves face the challenge of climbing out of the relegation zone. (AP)
