Nottingham Forest’s win over West Ham was incredibly important in the context of the Champions League race, but it has also come with its own slice of history.
Nuno Espírito Santo hailed Matz Sels for his display on Sunday as Forest got back to winning ways in the Premier League, showing the grit and determination that have taken them so far this season.
Still on everyone’s mind, Morgan Gibbs-White paid tribute to Taiwo Awoniyi after opening the scoring against West Ham, a goal that has left the Reds within touching distance of Champions League football going into the final day clash with Chelsea.
Whether Espírito Santo’s side make the top five or not, European football is still a tremendous change of fortunes from last season, something recognised in an incredible stat that has just emerged.
Photo by Jon Hobley | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Jon Hobley | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Nottingham Forest set unbelievable Premier League points record
When Espírito Santo took the Forest job back in December 2023, his first objective was to secure Premier League survival for the club, something he achieved with a 17th-place finish.
32 points were enough for the Forest squad last season, a number that has just been doubled by this season’s team in a true testament to how far the side have come in just a year.
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An incredible stat on its own, but made even more special as it’s the first time in Premier League history that a team have managed to double their points tally from one season to the next, as good a sign as any of the incredible work the Forest manager has done this season.
With many of this season’s stars such as Chris Wood and Gibbs-White, also in last season’s team, there’s perhaps only one area on the pitch that shows this improvement most clearly.
Nottingham Forest’s defence has improved the most this season
Forest played Burnley in their final game of the 23/24 season, where a brace by Wood was enough to secure a 2-1 win away from home. That day, the back four included:
Gonzalo Montiel
Willy Boly
Murillo
Harry Toffolo
Only one of these four has been a significant feature of this season, with Murillo’s central defensive partner arguably being the biggest upgrade from last season’s squad.
Gibbs-White hailed Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic for their role in making Forest incredibly hard to play against, but Milenkovic may well be the standout of this new back four, adding a commanding experience that has seen Murillo come on rapidly this campaign.
Of course, Wood’s goals have been a significant factor, but this improved defence could well be what has contributed to the doubling of the points tally the most.