Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo highlighted the talent of his squad as Nottingham Forest moved a step closer to qualifying for Europe with an important 4-2 win over Ipswich Town.
The Reds found the net three times in the space of six minutes before the break to take control of the game, with Anthony Elanga’s brace adding to Nikola Milenkovic’s opener. A flurry of late goals then made for an entertaining finale as Jota Silva netted the visitors’ fourth, either side of efforts from Jens Cajuste and George Hirst.
The victory moved third-placed Forest five points clear of closest rivals Chelsea and six ahead of Manchester City in the race for the Champions League spots. Meanwhile, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Elliot Anderson did their talking on the pitch after being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad as they put in excellent performances. Below is a look at what Nuno had to say after the final whistle at Portman Road.
On the result and performance…
“Overall, it was a good performance. We started well and were organised.
“Ipswich are a tough team, especially in the first 15 minutes. The plan was to try to contain Ipswich and I think we managed that. There was a good six-minute spell in the first half that really changed the game.
“We started the second half well. There was a moment when Ipswich scored and the team shakes a little bit, but fortunately we got the fourth goal to really kill the game. Overall, a good performance.”
On Elanga’s free role…
“He is versatile enough. Our wingers are able to play in the three front positions - left, centre and right. Anthony is one of them.
“He has taken advantage of this freedom to be able to go to central areas and also exploit the wing. I’m delighted for him that he scored two goals. More than his two goals, he was also very, very good with his defensive tasks.”
Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone
Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our Privacy Notice.
On Milenkovic playing the ball for Elanga’s second…
“Assist? It was not Chris (Wood)? OK, we can give it to him! But I don’t believe it was his intention to make an assist!
“Defensively, we were OK. We knew Ipswich were going to react because they are strong and have character. They also had the fans behind them, so the game was not over. Credit to Ipswich, they achieved two beautiful goals.”
On lack of Forest representation in the England squad…
“What they have to do is what they did today - work and play good. For sure, the next chance will be in front of them.
“What they have to do is stay focused and stay humble. For sure, Thomas Tuchel will look at our players and take them because they are talented players and they can help England.
“I didn’t have to speak to them about it. I think they are experienced enough to realise that in this world of football there are decisions to be made and respect to those who make the decisions.”
On missing out on a clean-sheet…
“In the right moment, we were compact and solid. We solved the problems.
“It is very hard to contain for 90 minutes; it requires a lot of focus and determination. How can you stop that goal (by Cajuste) from Ipswich? It was a beautiful strike of the ball.”
On moving six points clear of fifth-placed Manchester City…
“You know what I think about the table. Now our focus is to wish our players going to their national teams all the best.
“Fourteen of our players are going and we are very proud they can play for their countries. More than anything, we want them to return healthy because we have the FA Cup to focus on next.”
On whether wins over City and Ipswich made for a big week…
“It (the game) is finished. What we have to do is focus on ourselves and work as hard as we can because there’s a lot of football still to be played.”
On Gibbs-White’s role…
“One of the things we have been able to take advantage of is the versatility of our players. Some of our midfielders can also play in the wide areas and Morgan can drop deep and give us other things we don’t have.
“His ability on the ball, his vision, he dictates the tempo. He is a huge talent. A huge talent. He has so much talent.”
On Ramon Sosa’s absence from the squad…
“It is to do with selection. We thought it was important to have three midfielders on the bench and (Willy) Boly also.
“It is about decisions. I wish I could bring them all and play them all, but that is the way it is.”
Who was your Forest man of the match against Ipswich? Click HERE to have your say