Tottenham moved above Aston Villa and into fourth after deservedly beating Nottingham Forest 3-1 in an entertaining match.
Ange Postecoglou’s side wobbled badly towards the end of the first half, when Forest should have gone ahead, but regained control after the break and deserved their victory.
The home side dominated early on with their usual slick passing and movement, although they almost went behind when Forest’s Brazilian centre-back Murillo shot just wide from – this is not a misprint – 80 yards. A few minutes later Murillo scored at the wrong end, diverting a dangerous cross from Timo Werner past the Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.
Chris Wood’s clinical equaliser came against the run of play and stunned Spurs, who were outplayed for the rest of the first half. Wood should have scored a second but indulgently battered a shot against the post from four yards.
Postecoglou made two midfield changes at half-time, bringing on Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and Spurs took charge. If the midfielders gave them control, the defenders got the goals. Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro blasted two in seven minutes, and Forest never really looked like staging a comeback.
The result moves Spurs ahead of Villa on goal difference, with a game in hand. Forest stay 17th, above Luton on goal difference, though the picture will change if Everton have more points deducted this week.
More to follow
