Nottingham Forest’s opening-day delight against Brentford showed Nuno Espirito Santo’s worries can be calmed, as his side displayed confidence and authority from the start, with a first-half display of class as the midfield dominated. George Edwards was at the match
Nottingham Forest were once Brentford.
Beginning the season disjointed, unprepared and looking like an XI of strangers. Watching the Bees was like an unwelcome blast from the past, but the past is where performances like that belong for this new Nottingham Forest side.
Instead, Forest brought a refreshingly connected and confident presence to their City Ground opener, owning their status as a European-bound team and as a top-half Premier League side, 3-1 winners by the end.
They were at their best in the first half, bolting out of the traps from the first minute, quashing the pre-season goalscoring worries after five minutes and blowing Brentford off the park by half-time, all while never really looking like they were playing at full tilt.
Nuno spoke in the week of his anxiety that Forest may not be ready, having seen the squad shrink since the end of last season and with the signings only now starting to filter through. Even post-match, the Portuguese tactician declared he was “still worried” to BBC Radio Nottingham’s Colin Fray.
However, thanks to his methods and Forest’s successful transfer window, his caution looks to be in vain.
As mentioned, signing players at this stage is something Nuno would rather avoid, and the successes of last season stemmed from him having the whole of pre-season with almost all of his squad ahead of the opening game.
But while they haven’t added, they haven’t lost – only Anthony Elanga departing from the starting XI that was the norm towards the back end of last season, and that relatability showed throughout against Brentford.
None more so than in midfield, where Ibrahim Sangaré, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White took centre stage. The trio were always in and around the ball and seemed to know where the other two were at all times, showing how a dominant and capable midfield is integral to any Premier League team.
Between them, they completed 143 passes across the 90, compared to just 50 completed by Brentford’s midfield three.
As a trio, they brought the best out of each other and allowed one another to thrive.
Sangaré’s defensive side has always been the worry, but he excelled in that area against Brentford. Four recoveries, five clearances and five duels won prove that, seemingly always there to nick back possession when Brentford thought they might be in.
He stuck to the basics and did the basics well. At times, he has attempted to be spectacular and ended up failing spectacularly, but today he just did the job. He looked short, played to feet and retained the ball – something Forest did so well throughout, spearheaded by the Ivorian.
Next to him, Anderson shone. It felt like every third pass was to him, and receiving the ball, he was completely aware of his surroundings and what he intended to do with it. His instincts drove him on, culminating in that authoritative first-time ball through for Chris Wood on the stroke of half-time, an ingenious bit of vision and anticipation, the pass carried out to perfection.
Then there’s Morgan Gibbs-White, strutting around the pitch knowing he has that something special, that difference-making ability. His unpredictability makes him almost impossible to defend against, and, like Anderson, he always seemed close to the ball and at the heart of the action.
His assist for Dan Ndoye’s debut goal was audacious and outrageous, a cross from an almost impossible angle on his weak foot that nobody could have seen coming – apart from the Swiss winger, of course.
The Reds still have Nicolas Dominguez to return, club captain Ryan Yates sat on the bench, and James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson and potentially Arnaud Kalimuendo and Douglas Luiz to integrate, but if Forest’s midfield continue to perform as they did against Brentford, they’ll find it tough to get a look in.
Ahead of them, Forest’s most important player proved his worth once again.
Chris Wood has never needed much service to have an impact in a red shirt, and today was no different. His opener came from a bouncing ball where the chance only became available at the split second he connected: any earlier and it would have ballooned over and any later it would have been cleared or blocked.
His second and Forest’s third proved his experience as a Premier League striker and the ice-cold mentality needed to be a top-level striker. Aside from his finishing, he looked the fittest player on the pitch, unafraid to drop deep and happy to press; he looks the single player irreplaceable in Forest’s starting XI at present.
Defensively, Forest remained solid, partly due to Brentford’s blunt and mismatched attack and partly because of the well-drilled machine they have turned into.
There was very little anxiety at any stage, the Reds’ back five looking unbreachable and thoroughly in control; it was always going to be a mistake or a slice of luck if Brentford were going to cause any trouble.
The final few games of last season took a lot out of everybody at the club, and there was concern of a hangover from the previous term into this. However, Forest have retained the core from the overall success of the last campaign, have retained the positive mentality that persisted throughout, and have retained the quality and understanding to ensure that they are only at the beginning of the next successful chapter in Nottingham Forest’s story.
Follow The Famous Club on:
Bluesky | Facebook | Flipboard | Google News | Instagram | Reddit | Threads | WhatsApp | X (Twitter)