When Anthony Taylor blew his whistle to signal full-time, Nuno Espirito Santo was not the only one in Nottingham Forest colours who looked like he needed a lie down.
From 3-0 up at the interval, Forest had been hanging on through 12 minutes’ stoppage time as the effort they showed in holding Liverpool to a draw five days ago started to take its toll. Had it not been for Ola Aina’s brilliant goal-line clearance, they would have dropped two points to Southampton, who have collected only six all season.
Was this late resistance a sign of Forest’s resilience or an indication they may struggle to last the pace? Both may be true. After such an exhausting evening against Arne Slot’s men, it was never going to be easy for Forest here.
The question now is whether they can regain energy for the challenges ahead, starting at Bournemouth on Saturday. Yet even if the title may be beyond them, Forest undoubtedly have the tools to make next season’s Champions League.
‘We know what we are, our strengths and our weaknesses, and we’ll keep pressing ahead with that,’ said Nuno. ‘What guides us is our levels of performance. We want to keep improving as a team because there are so many things we need to improve. Aina’s clearance was brilliant but I hope set pieces do not become a problem for us.
‘The second half was strange. So many stoppages, the game didn’t flow, and that always helps the team who are trying to get back into the game.’
Nottingham Forest fended off Southampton to win 3-2 at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon
Forest remain third and are well-positioned to qualify for next season’s Champions League
Chris Wood has scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season – his best campaign ever
Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi – who later went off injured – and Chris Wood found the net in the first half, with Jan Bednarek’s freakish goal and Paul Onuachu’s late header keeping Ivan Juric’s men interested until the end.
But there were other aspects of this game, especially in the first half, that proved Forest’s mettle. First among them, Aina’s acrobatics to stop Bednarek heading in his second and claiming a point for the visitors.
‘Ola is like a son to me,’ said Juric, who coached the Nigerian at Torino. ‘We had a really good relationship. Today he saved a goal and had an excellent game. He is an incredible player for the Premier League.
‘What I saw from the last 30 or 40 minutes is what I want from my team. But Forest are competitive: they defend low and have exceptional players who can win matches.’
Earlier, we saw the subtler qualities that have helped Forest do so well this term. Rather than celebrating Anderson’s 11th-minute strike, Nuno beckoned midfielder Nicolas Dominguez to the touchline to explain how he wanted the Argentine to improve his positioning out of possession.
Anthony Elanga catches the eye for his attacking play yet with Forest a goal up, the winger won a crucial header to clear a Saints corner.
When he lost possession just inside the Saints half, Morgan Gibbs-White raced back instantly and retrieved the ball from Cameron Archer. Wood’s header for the third from Aina’s cross – his 20th of the season for Forest and New Zealand – was no more important than the way he charged towards Flynn Downes to stop the midfielder’s shot at source.
By contrast, there was nothing to enjoy about Southampton’s defensive work before half-time, which seem to betray a group of players who know they are going down and have lost the appetite to prevent it.
Southampton are rock-bottom and still winless in the league under struggling boss Ivan Juric
The Saints hit back with two goals in the second half but it was too little too late for them
Some will get moves – plus a big signing-on fee, naturally – and although those who stay will have their salaries reduced, they will not struggle to pay the bills. Compare that with club employees who earn a fraction of what these players do and are often the first to suffer when costs are cut after relegation.
What would they have thought when no Saints player thought to pick up Gibbs-White in centre-field, allowing him to flick Neco Williams’ throw-in into the path of Anderson? Or when Mateus Fernandes made little effort to stop Anderson surging forward to score?
How about the marking – or lack of it – that enabled Wood to climb unchallenged and guide Aina’s delivery beyond Aaron Ramsdale? At least their second-half showing demonstrated a little pride though Forest should have made it four shortly after the interval when Elanga’s shot was saved and Gibbs-White’s follow-up was blocked on the line.
From nowhere, Southampton found a way back when three substitutes combined for a bizarre goal. Ryan Manning’s free-kick was nodded down by Onuachu to Lesley Ugochukwu, whose 20-yard effort flicked Bednarek’s heel and looped over a helpless Matz Sels.
Only VAR spared Saints from conceding a fourth after another desperate piece of defending. Elanga’s free-kick was met by Nikola Milenkovic, who had drifted away from his markers, and Aaron Ramsdale somehow fumbled the ball over the line seven though it was headed straight at him. Luckily for the Saints ‘keeper, the goal was ruled out as Wood was judged to have impeded Ugochukwu.
Then it was Wood’s turn to be embarrassed as he found his feet in a tangle and turned a header from Jota Silva, on for the injured Hudson-Odoi, over the top from inside the six-yard box. Southampton tried to increase the pressure with a series of high balls and soon after the fourth official had signalled 12 minutes’ stoppage time, Onuachu rose at the near post to head in Fernandes’ corner. Bednarek thought he had done the same from another Fernandes kick only for Aina somehow to hook the ball away from his position on the far post.
