Nottingham Forest claimed a SIXTH straight Premier League victory as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 at Molineux.
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Nuno Espirito Santo's third-placed side moved level on points with Arsenal and just six shy of leaders Liverpool - who they host next time out in the league - after another clinical performance.
Morgan Gibbs-White opened the scoring just seven minutes into Monday's match against his former side, before Chris Wood doubled Forest's advantage on the stroke of half-time and substitute Taiwo Awoniyi rounded off a brilliant display late on.
It could have been a different story for Wolves if the excellent Matz Sels had not denied Jorgen Strand Larsen, who also saw an effort cleared off the line by Murillo, with the scoreline at 1-0.
Vitor Pereira was left to rue those failed attempts as he suffered a first defeat as Wolves head coach - his team remain 17th, clear of Ipswich Town on goal difference.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
19 | +28 | 46 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
20 | +21 | 40 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
20 | +10 | 40 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
20 | +15 | 36 |
How the match unfolded
After a neat one-two with Anthony Elanga at the culmination of a swift counter, Gibbs-White silenced his old club when his deflected finish from near the penalty spot found the bottom-right corner.
Strand Larsen somehow fired straight at Murillo with a near-open goal gaping soon after, before Sels parried the Wolves forward’s header. Forest had their goalkeeper to thank again soon after, as he kept out a thumping volley from Rodrigo Gomes.
Sels' brilliant saves paid dividends just a minute before the interval. Callum Hudson-Odoi raced down the left and pulled back for Wood to clinically sweep past Jose Sa and the covering Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The inspired Sels once again frustrated Wolves after tipping away Strand Larsen's driven effort following fine link-up play with Goncalo Guedes in the second half.
Forest wrapped the win up when Hudson-Odoi played through James Ward-Prowse, who selflessly offloaded for fellow sub Awoniyi to tuck into an empty net.
Problems to ponder for Pereira
Pereira's unbeaten start to life at Molineux came to an end as this defeat provided a timely reminder of issues that have left Wolves struggling.
Strand Larsen proved the hero with a late leveller in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last time out, but the forward wasted a glorious opportunity here when directing at Murillo after Hwang Hee-chan's effort had fortuitously fallen his way inside the six-yard box.
That gilt-edged chance came shortly after Wolves were cut open far too easily, with Gibbs-White afforded the freedom of his former stomping ground to burst away and exchange with Elanga to score.
Strand Larsen rushed another equalising opportunity from debutant Pedro Lima's right-sided cross before somehow seeing his close-range header parried away by Sels after Gomes' delivery from the opposite flank.
Pereira, who was missing suspended talisman Matheus Cunha, may have looked at Forest poacher Wood with envy after seeing his striker Strand Larsen pass up another chance in the second half, blasting a right-footed effort just within Sels' stretching reach.
Wolves will hope to bounce back against Bristol City in the FA Cup third-round on Saturday, although Pereira will have much to ponder before visiting in-form Newcastle United in the league four days later.
Forest mark Clough anniversary in style
Monday marked 50 years since Forest appointed Brian Clough, the legendary manager who guided them to back-to-back European Cups, the English First Division title, and masterminded nine of the club's 11 major honours in their entire history.
Therefore, it was fitting on this anniversary that Forest secured their sixth straight top-flight win - heights they had not achieved previously since winning seven consecutive matches under Clough across two campaigns between May and September 1979.
A new era of Forest heroes could now await, with Nuno getting one over his former team and masterminding a win that sees his side move five points clear of fifth-placed Newcastle.
Nicolas Dominguez's well-timed interception and pass created the space for Gibbs-White's driving run that culminated in the opener, while Hudson-Odoi's rapid turn of pace paved the way for Wood's 12th league goal of the season.
Forest had earlier seen penalty appeals for handball turned down - the VAR confirming referee Peter Bankes' call that Ait-Nouri's arm was in a natural position when the defender blocked Ola Aina's cross.
Hudson-Odoi, who will surely have impressed the watching England boss Thomas Tuchel, headed over from Jota Silva's delightful delivery in the second period, though Awoniyi made sure of victory after another clinical counter-attack sealed three points on a milestone day for Forest.
Club reports
What the managers said
Vitor Pereira: "You can say that we were unlucky but for me, we created chances to score but we faced a team that were physically strong, we felt that on the pitch. They were very fast on the counter-attack and when they score first, they are a team that they are compact and wait for mistakes. Each mistake we made, they scored a goal.
"They scored at the end of the first-half in a moment where we could have equalised. We didn't and this is not luck. Sometimes you can say luck but I thought their goalkeeper made fantastic saves. We need to improve our details inside the box to score more goals."
Nuno Espirito Santo: "It feels good. We work very hard to achieve what we have. Today was a tough game. Wolves had chances and Matz Sels was amazing to keep us in the game. I'm really proud of the work ethic of the players and the desire to go in front and score.
"It's a very tough competition. We are always going to face tough opponents. We need to stay humble. We haven't achieved anything yet, we need to work until the end and this can lead us to good moments."
Next PL fixtures
Match facts
Forest have won six consecutive Premier League matches, the longest winning run (across all teams) in the competition this season. It's also the first time they have won six successive top-flight matches since May-September 1979 (seven in a row), doing so within a single season for the first time since 1966/67 (two runs of six wins).
Nuno's side have kept nine clean sheets in the Premier League this season, more than any other team. Forest have kept four successive shutouts in the top-flight for the first time since March 1992 (a run of five).
Wolves suffered their first defeat under Pereira (P4 W2 D1 L1), failing to score at Molineux for the first time in 12 Premier League matches since a 1-0 defeat by AFC Bournemouth in April 2024.
