Nuno Espirito Santo pulled off another tactical masterclass in the Premier League at Nottingham Forest, as his tweak at half-time resulted in all three points.
Nottingham Forest headed into half-time as the more vulnerable looking side, but it didn’t turn out that way as they found a second within a few minutes of the second half kicking off.
It was a classic Nuno Espirito Santo display, sitting deep and being defensively compact to then spring counter-attacks and really open up the spaces in the final third.
However, it couldn’t have been achieved without the brilliance of Jota Silva, who was responsible for a lot of the creativity in the final third.
A special mention for Ola Aina too, who contributed in all areas of the pitch.
Nuno Espirito Santo was the one who Morgan Gibbs-White gave plenty of credit to after the game, as it was his tweak that really set Forest up for success.
Morgan Gibbs-White reveals genius Nuno Espirito Santo tweak that won Nottingham Forest the game
Gibbs-White bagged a goal and an assist on the night, but rather than make it all about him, he gave credit to his boss when speaking to the Sky Sports studio.
First though, he spoke about Andre Onana and his horror show for the second Forest goal.
Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest (R) celebrates with Jota Silva of Nottingham Forest after scoring their 2nd goal during the Premier League ...
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
MORE FOREST STORIES
Gibbs-White revealed exactly what the Portuguese boss told him to do at half-time against Manchester United to really give Forest the upper-hand.
“Yeah, it was for me and Woody to stay more narrow, so we can control their two midfielders. And we pressed from the wingers and it seemed to work.
“We stuck to it, we believed in what the manager wanted and it showed off.”
Nuno Espirito Santo’s genius tweak against Leicester
Nuno Espirito Santo is known for his tactical tweaks, having done so against Leicester this season, as Ryan Yates revealed his secrets that time.
“Yeah it was, that was the main of the team talk. So, we saw they were playing a box with Ndidi and the Argentine lad off our backs, and we just couldn’t get pressure on either Winks or Pereira who are extremely comfortable on the ball and good players.
“So we just dropped one of our Elanga or Hudson-Odoi at the right time to sort of match their box, and then we ended up turning the ball over a few times. We were really good on transition, so it changed the game.”
That’s now a win at Old Trafford and Anfield for Forest this season, which is the stuff of dreams.
Related Posts