Nottingham Forest defeated Brentford 2-0 on Saturday to continue a run of seriously impressive form.
Nuno Espirito Santo sees his team sit in fourth place in the Premier League table following three successive victories.
Brian Laws hailed Espirito Santo for his tactical tweak in the game against Brentford who before Saturday had not lost on home soil this season.
Goals from Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga gave the Reds a huge three points and continued the team’s rise up the table.
Elanga admitted that Jermain Defoe has been messaging him advice after his latest goal and clearly, it’s helped his development.
Anthony Elanga of Nottingham Forest celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates during the Premier League match between Brentford FC a...
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Lewis McGugan hails Nottingham Forest star Anthony Elanga
It was Elanga’s second goal in two games that drew the most praise at the weekend with the player seemingly back in form.
The 22-year-old has had some moments of struggle this season and some of the talk surrounding him has been pretty over the top.
For Espirito Santo, the challenge has been to get him featuring on a more frequent basis and impact games with goals and assists.
MORE FOREST STORIES
After his latest goal for Forest, Lewis McGugan has praised the player and believes he’s better when he can work solely on instinct.
He told the Forest Focus podcast: “I’ve said before about Anthony Elanga having a lot of good characteristics to his game but I also think that he’s a player that performs better when he doesn’t have to think about an action. When he plays a bit off the cuff, I think that’s where he’s at his best.”
Elanga will thrive under more game time at Forest
It won’t have done Elanga any favours this season that he’s not always been considered the first-choice option.
After his exploits last season, he needs to play and if he’s to edge towards 14 goal contributions once again he will only do it by featuring the team.
Elanga hasn’t become a bad player overnight and his goal on Saturday showcased that he’s still a class act when given the right service.
The 22-year-old works hard for the team, gets back to help out defensively and Forest do look better equipped for a positive result when he plays.
McGugan is right to suggest that the player is better when he has little time to think about things and perhaps honing that level of composure is something for him to work on going forward.
Related Posts