Nuno Espirito Santo felt Nottingham Forest's "amazing" start was crucial to their win over Brentford as they kicked off their Premier League season in style.
Forest raced into a three-goal lead before half-time as two goals from Chris Wood plus a strike from debutant Dan Ndoye put the game beyond the visitors' reach.
Igor Thiago did hit a penalty for the visitors after the break but it was not enough spark a flat Brentford who have lost some big players over the summer.
Forest could have added further to the scoreline and were denied a penalty shout in the first half when VAR decided Antoni Djibu Milamba had not handled an Elliot Anderson free-kick.
But reflecting on an excellent start to the campaign, with Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson in spectacular form, the Reds chief was thrilled with their dominance.
"I'm delighted," said the Reds boss.
"I think the way we started the game was amazing. We were good, dominant, played with control and had good combinations.
"The goal after the first five or six minutes settled the team. There was energy in the stadium and everybody seemed to start going after that. There were good combinations and beautiful goals.
"More than anything, I think the way we controlled the game (was good), with the exception of a little bit before the second goal, when Brentford had a good move and a good chance.
"We didn't allow too many chances for them, which was really positive."
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