Nottingham Forest defeated Tottenham 3-0 in crucial relegation-decider clash.
Tottenham’s survival hopes took another catastrophic blow as Nottingham Forest produced a thoroughly professional 3-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, exploiting the flanks with devastating regularity throughout. There were no positives to extract from a performance that was as limp as it was predictable. Igor Tudor’s side are now in serious danger of dropping into the Championship, and are just one point above the drop zone.
Winners
Mathys Tel: Tel began creating chaos from the get-go. The 20-year-old had a shot bounce back off the bar, put in several dangerous crosses, and continued troubling Ola Aina throughout his time on the pitch. He would be gutted that none of his explosive moves resulted in a goal.
Nottingham Forest: Came to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, identified the weakness on both flanks, and exploited it with clinical precision from start to finish. Vitor Pereira’s side showed exactly the kind of defensive organisation and attacking directness that a side fighting for survival needs, and their 3-0 victory was thoroughly deserved. They climbed above Spurs in the table and did so convincingly.
Losers
The Tottenham Backline: Exposed relentlessly on both flanks throughout the afternoon, the defensive unit collectively failed in the most fundamental aspects of their job. Van de Ven, Spence and Porro were all identified and targeted by Forest before being hauled off (exception of Porro), but the problems extended across the entire defensive structure. Crosses and cutbacks caused panic with every delivery, and Forest simply kept coming until the game was won.
Igor Tudor: Seven games in charge, one point from a possible 15 in the Premier League, and one win and a thrashing in the UCL. The numbers are indefensible. Whatever credit was earned from the draw at Anfield and the Atletico performance has been entirely consumed by a home defeat to a fellow relegation-threatened side that raises the most serious questions yet about whether Tudor is the right person to navigate this club to safety. The Championship is not a distant threat anymore. It is the most likely outcome if something does not change immediately.