Wood rises to cap Forest's blistering start and bolster Champions League dream

There is no need to attempt to rewrite history by arguing that Tottenham Hotspur failed to see what they had in Nuno Espírito Santo. All that matters now is that this meticulous, softly spoken manager is the perfect fit for Nottingham Forest.

- Jacob Steinberg

There is no need to attempt to rewrite history by arguing that Tottenham Hotspur failed to see what they had in Nuno Espírito Santo. All that matters now is that this meticulous, softly spoken manager is the perfect fit for Nottingham Forest. They have provided Nuno with the perfect platform for his counterpunching tactics and, in what would surely be the story of the Premier League season, are closing in on Champions League football after cruising to victory over Ange Postecoglou's limp and uninterested Spurs side.

This was cool, clinical and resilient from Forest as they bounced back from two successive defeats by rising into third place with five games left. Nerves, it seems, are not for them. They struck early through Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood, who punished diffident defending, and then leant on their defensive prowess to claim the points. Spurs, stuck in 16th after falling to their 18th defeat in 33 games, a header from Richarlison coming too late to save them.

Although there was concern about Forest having to tweak their back four because of Ola Aina's absence, with Harry Toffolo coming in for his first league start of the season at left-back, there was little sign of expectation weighing them down during a blistering start.