Chris Wood has scored 14 Premier League goals for Nottingham Forest this season
Chris Wood's double against his former club sealed Premier League safety for Nottingham Forest as they comfortably beat relegated Burnley.
Forest's goal difference meant they were as good as safe going into the final day but Wood shattered any slight concerns when he turned home an Anthony Elanga cross after just 76 seconds.
Wood's second, coming as a Ryan Yates shot ricocheted off him and past Arijanet Muric, was initially disallowed, but the video assistant referee overturned the on-field decision.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who took over as Forest boss in December, said keeping the club up had been the "most difficult" task of his career so far.
Burnley controlled the ball but were mostly unproductive in the final third, struggling as Forest sat back in a low block to keep the hosts at bay.
Forest made the most of their fleeting moments of possession, causing continual trouble through Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi's tricky footwork on either wing.
Josh Cullen was fortunate that his second-half strike deflected off Forest defender Murillo and pulled a goal back for the Clarets, but they were unable to turn that into a sustained fightback.
"It was the first time as a coaching staff we joined a football club in the middle of the season. It was a new experience," Nuno said. "We embraced the challenge.
"But what we didn't have and what we are getting now was what you normally achieve in the pre-season - the bond. We had to build our relationships through the season while competing, so when you asked me if it was hard, it was because we didn't have the chance to build the bond."
Burnley - whose fate was sealed with defeat by Tottenham on the season's penultimate weekend - return to the Championship having won just two games at home all season.
Important to hang onto players - Santo
Forest execute plan to perfection to stay up
Mathematically, sealing Forest's top-flight safety was on the line, but that was never a serious concern, with Luton three points and a mountain of goals behind.
This was therefore a game which appropriately had an end-of-term feel to it.
Neither side managed to build up too many periods of rhythm and it was ultimately Wood’s nous in the box which made the difference.
Wood, who played for Burnley from 2017 to 2022, was a reliable presence in the final third to make the most of his side's creativity on the counter-attack.
Nuno's side sat back to stymie Burnley’s attempts of mounting a fightback and limited them to half-chances as Zeki Amdouni and Maxime Esteve both sent efforts over Matz Sels’ goal.
Forest were content with trying to break Burnley down in the middle and hit the hosts after overturning possession, with Morgan Gibbs-White's vision orchestrating many of their moves forward.
Burnley just could not cope with Forest's pace and movement on the break and were punished when their slow build-up inevitably faltered.
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany said the "emotions" of it being the Clarets' final game before returning to the Championship were evident as the hosts conceded two early goals.
Cullen's goal acted as late inspiration, but in the end it was limited to consolation as Forest prevented Burnley finding an equaliser.
Kompany said: "I felt like we had every intention to win the game and give it everything we've got, and we got punished in two moments and you wonder what type of day it's going to be.
"The team kept pushing and we gave ourselves a chance to be in the game and maybe get a result."
We've made a commitment to be strong next season - Kompany
Referee: Graham Scott
Attendance: 21,109
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