Nottingham Forest lost 3-1 at Leeds United and missed the chance to go nine points clear of West Ham. It was a disappointing evening for Sean Dyche’s side in the rain at Elland Road.
Goals from Jayden Bogle and Noah Okafor inside the space of the four first half minutes meant that they found themselves 2-0 down at half time. This was, despite a promising start to the game from the visitors.
It may have been expected that there would be changes from Dyche at the break but this was not the case and five minutes into the second half it was 3-0, after a goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
At two down, it looked like a mountain to climb for the Reds but at 3-0 it was surely game over.
Lorenzo Lucca came on for his Forest debut and he did pull a goal back with four minutes of the ninety remaining.
It made for a potentially nervy finish and Forest did have one or two chances but Leeds held on for an important win.
It is Daniel Farke’s side who move nine points clear of the drop zone and Forest remain in a bit of danger.
Here are four takeaways from the game:
Was the defensive set-up wrong?
Following Neco Williams’ red card last week, Dyche was left with a dilemma at the back.
He opted for Zach Abbott at right back and **Ola Aina**at left back.
The nineteen year old had a difficult evening and was targeted by the Leeds forward line.
Forest have looked solid at the back in recent weeks but this was a worrying evening.
Stefan Ortega made his debut in goal and it also was not a convincing performance from him as he spilled the ball on several occasions and did not look assured. He could also be judged to have been at fault for the opening goal as he was a little hesitant to come out of his goal and tighten the angle for the striker.
Dyche decided not to start new signing, Luca Netz. However, when he came on at left back midway through the second half and Aina went to right back, the balance of the team looked stronger.
Murillo a big miss?
There is also little doubt that when Forest are without their Brazilian centre-back Murillo, they are not as strong at the back.
He is a leader and also plays passes out from the backline that other players are not capable of. He makes the team look a lot more assured and compliments his partner Nikola Milenkovic well.
**Morato**came in but he is not as confident on the ball and leaves Forest weaker at the back purely for the simple fact that he does not possess the levels of quality of the player he replaces, but few defenders do.
Lorenzo Lucca offers hope?
The Italian striker came off the bench in the second half and he scored the consolation goal. It was a well-taken header and he certainly gave substitute Omari Hutchinson a target for his crosses into the box.
Lucca may have only signed on a short term deal but there will be a hope that he can make an impact between now and the end of the season.
He offered his team an out-ball and suited the style of play that a typical Dyche side may play.
He may not totally change the outcome of Forest’s season but he offers a different option and there was enough in this performance to suggest he could be a useful addition.
Given he scored a goal on his debut, it will now be interesting to see if Lucca is given the nod over Igor Jesus to start their next game on Wednesday, against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Where does it leave Forest?
It was the worst possible outcome in West Yorkshire and, other than Lucca’s goal, there were not many positives to take.
It was certainly a missed opportunity.
Dyche subbed off Morgan Gibbs-White on the 67th minute and this was possibly a move that suggested he knew the game was over and was prioritising the next match.
Leeds deserve full credit for the win and 29 points at this stage in the season puts them in a good position.
Forest will not know the full extent of what this defeat means until after West Ham have played as the gap could be cut to just three points. It adds more pressure to their next game as they will be looking to increase the gap again.
However, the Hammers do face Manchester United in midweek, whilst Forest play the league's bottom side so that may represent another opportunity to gain an advantage over their rivals and former manager, Nuno Espirito Santo.
They should not panic just yet but there will need to be an improvement in the next match.
They still have an advantage and there are plenty of games to play but nights like this will do little to suggest to the Forest fans who have doubts over their manager that he is the man to take them into next season, if they are to avoid the drop.