Martin Chivers, a legend of Tottenham’s glittering past, was paraded at half time in celebration of his 80th birthday but the happiest returns belonged to Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
Nuno’s time in charge of Spurs was brief and unmemorable. And his sacking after four months sent him spinning off to Saudi Arabia with his reputation damaged.
When he was invited back into English football in December 2023, it was to help Forest avoid relegation and there was little fanfare.
Now, here we are, 16 months on, and back in N17 to savour a victory secured by goals in the first 17 minutes from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood, to move into third in the Premier League.
Their fans filed into London’s damp streets singing of the Champions League and they will return to the capital for an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Sunday.
This fixture was a test of nerve for Forest, engulfed by the chasing pack after two defeats and pressure increasing and Spurs helped them out with a sloppy opening.
Nottingham Forest took another big step towards Champions League qualification on Monday
Ange Postecoglou watched his side suffer their 18th defeat of the Premier League campaign
Elliot Anderson scored Forest’s first as they triumphed 2-1 over Tottenham in north London
Ange Postecoglou’s team started like it was a pre-season game, conceded twice and could not recover and slumped to their 18th defeat of the Premier League campaign.
They improved and Richarlison pulled one back with a header in the 87th minute but it was too little too late.
Forest were up and running inside five minutes as Spurs reverted to the sort of casual defending that had cost them so dearly at Wolves, where they lost 4-2 in their previous Premier League outing.
Morgan Gibbs-White had little trouble finding space just outside the penalty area and tested Guglielmo Vicario with a fizzing shot across the surface. Vicario pushed it wide but conceded from the corner.
Anthony Elanga’s set piece was headed out by Pedro Porro but only as far as Anderson who fired it back at goal first time. His shot was sweetly struck but Vicario was beaten by a deflection off Rodrigo Bentancur, which sent the ball spinning into the turf and over the ‘keeper’s dive.
Forest had the ball in the net again in the 10th minute. Wood turned in a pass from Anderson on the volley from six yards only to find it ruled out for offside. It was tight. The VAR imagery showed him breaking the offside plane with just a shoulder and an arm.
Still, it wasn’t long before Wood was able to celebrate his 19th Premier League goal of the season. This time a header from a cross by Elanga from the Forest left.
Vicario came flying from his line, arms extended, fists together to punch but Wood simply got ahead of him and the ball flashed into an open net.
Two down after 17 minutes, Tottenham were brought to earth with a crash after the victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, where they produced a solid defensive display to secure a place in the last four of the Europa League.
Chris Wood netted in the 16th minute to fire Forest two goals ahead and in full control of Spurs
It was another dismal night for Tottenham, who slipped to 16th after Wolves’ win on Sunday
Richarlison clawed one back for the Tottenham late on after missing a catalogue of chances
They started here though, as at Wolves, like a team unable to retrain focus. Postecoglou made five changes from Frankfurt, resting some and bringing in others such as Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski because he wanted them to play and restore rhythm after injuries.
For half an hour though, they simply looked like a team with minds elsewhere. Cristian Romero, meanwhile, thundered about like a red card trying to happen.
A similar feeling was evident in the crowd with plenty of empty seats and most of the noise emanating from Forest fans in the away end.
Spurs did muster a response before half time. Wilson Odobert and Kulusevski forced Matz Sels into saves with shots from distance but there was not a clear chance until Neco Williams made a mess of a bouncing ball and presented Mathys Tel with a sight of goal, five minutes before half time.
Ten yards out, first time on his left foot from a slight angle, Tel blazed it wide.
Richarlison headed wide twice in quick succession before Spurs were booed into the interval.
Postecoglou changed his centre-halves at half time to reinforce the feeling it was deep down just an elaborate training exercise, but his team improved in the second half and Forest, who switched to a back three at half time, became anxious.
Gibbs-White squandered an excellent chance to make it 3-0, slicing wide when released by Wood and Harry Toffolo, making his first Premier League start of the season, produced a terrific clearance to keep out a header by Kulusevski.
Sels made two fine saves from Richarlison, the second of them low to his right was his best of the night, but his resistance was finally broken by the Brazilian and it sparked a frantic closing period.
