Chris Wood celebrates scoring against TottenhamGetty Images

Chris Wood scored his first goal since mid-February for Nottingham Forest

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boosted their Champions League hopes as an impressive victory against Tottenham moved them back up to third in the Premier League.

The visitors started the day sixth but were in a determined mood from the outset at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to get the result that would see them climb back up the table.

They took just five minutes to open the scoring when Elliot Anderson's thunderous volley deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur to fly into the back of the net.

Spurs' poor league form this term has been well documented and despite winning at Eintracht Frankfurt last Thursday to reach the Europa League semi-finals, they failed to carry that momentum into this game.

They saw plenty of the ball and got into good positions but were not threatening enough and instead Forest added a second in the 16th minute when Chris Wood nodded in from Anthony Elanga's delivery.

Wood has been instrumental to Forest's impressive form this season with this strike his 19th in the Premier League this season.

Mathys Tel lashed wide when unmarked towards the end of the first half, while Richarlison - making his first Tottenham start since February - headed over from close range.

Harry Toffolo made a crucial goalline clearance to hook away Dejan Kulusevski's effort midway through the second half, before Matz Sels produced an excellent save to deny Richarlison late on.

Spurs came alive in the final minutes and got a goal back with three minutes remaining when Richarlison finally beat Sels with a header.

But Forest held their nerve to seal a victory and edge closer towards securing European football next season.

Clinical Forest closing in on Europe return

Forest had clear intention to bounce back - Nuno Espirito Santo

Finishing in the top five will currently be enough to secure a place in the Champions League, but weekend results had seen Forest - the surprise package of the season - drop out of those positions.

A trip to Tottenham with the pressure on them to get a result was a test of their credentials - a test they passed with flying colours.

As they have been in many games this season they were a distant second in the possession stats, but were once again effective with their fast and direct attacking.

Wood had gone into this game having failed to score in the Premier League since mid-February but ended his drought with a typical finish, flicking his header over Guglielmo Vicario.

Forest don't often have many chances but they are clinical with the ones they get, with their two goals coming from their three shots on target.

It is an effective playing style and has them firmly on course to seal a return to European football.

Spark arrives too late for Spurs

'We've let ourselves down' - Postecoglou frustrated after loss against Forest

By contrast, Tottenham had plenty of chances but failed to make the most of them as they did not find their spark until it was too late.

With Ange Postecoglou's side sitting 16th in the Premier League, their focus is firmly on winning the Europa League and it perhaps showed with this display.

They were pretty flat throughout this match and it took until Richarlison forced an excellent save out of Sels with a fierce 80th-minute header for them to come alive.

Only Liverpool and Arsenal have stronger defences than Forest this season and although Richarlison did manage to halve the deficit with three minutes to go, the visitors did not look like conceding a late equaliser before boos greeted the final whistle from the home fans.

If Tottenham can claim European glory this term it would cover for what has been a hugely disappointing campaign domestically, with this their 18th league defeat - only the bottom three sides have lost more.

It is also the most defeats Spurs have suffered in a league campaign since losing 19 in 2003-04.

Player of the match

M. Sels
8.17
11 M. Tel
4.69
23 Pedro Porro
4.62
24 D. Spence
4.61
15 L. Bergvall
4.57
4 K. Danso
4.45
9 Richarlison
4.41
28 W. Odobert
4.41
33 B. Davies
4.40
29 P. Sarr
4.30
21 D. Kulusevski
4.26
19 D. Solanke
4.21
37 M. van de Ven
4.20
22 B. Johnson
4.17
30 R. Bentancur
4.09
17 C. Romero
3.84
1 G. Vicario
3.64
Back to team tabs

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

Related topics