Nottingham Forest Beats Brentford, Eyes European Spot

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo remains cautious despite his team’s 2-0 win over Brentford which secured their place in the Premier League top four heading into Christmas. Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga scored and strong defensive play helped Forest secure their third consecutive victory, marking Nuno’s one-year anniversary as head coach. Nuno emphasized that the team has “achieved nothing yet,” urging his players to stay humble and focus on improvement.

With 31 points from 17 games, Forest has posted their best top-flight tally since 1987-88 when they finished third. “It’s not about the table. It’s about improving,” Nuno said, stressing the importance of ongoing hard work. Forest opened the scoring late in the first half when Neco Williams set up Aina for a low finish. Shortly after the break, Elanga capitalized on a mistake from Keane Lewis-Potter and slotted the ball past Brentford’s goalkeeper Mark Flekken to double their lead.

Despite enjoying most of the possession, Brentford struggled to find the net. Mikkel Damsgaard and Yoane Wissa missed first-half chances and Kristoffer Ajer’s close-range shot was superbly saved by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels. Brentford, who had the best home record in the Premier League before this match, dropped to 12th after losing three of their last seven games.

Nottingham Forest has built their success on solid defending with summer signings Morato and Nikola Milenkovic joining Murillo to stifle Brentford’s attacking threat. This win marks a significant improvement for Forest, who now sit two points ahead of their best-ever start to a top-flight season and are in contention for European football next season.