This was Nuno Espirito Santo’s 38th game in charge of Nottingham Forest.
While those games have come in three competitions, it is the equivalent of a full Premier League season at the helm for the Portuguese — and, during that time, the evolution, progress and improvement he has inspired among the players has been clear.
Forest’s 11th game of the current Premier League campaign saw them suffer only their second defeat. But, at the final whistle, before Chelsea and Arsenal kicked off in Sunday’s late game, they remained third in the table. That is the highest Forest have been since a side managed by Frank Clark challenged for the title in 1994-95, eventually finishing third.
The 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge means Forest will spend the year’s final international break in fifth position, behind Chelsea and Arsenal only on goal difference. When Nuno was appointed, they were five points above the drop zone, in 17th position after a run of five defeats in six matches. But after winning consecutive battles against relegation on their long-awaited return to the top flight, these are still heady days beside the River Trent.
But equally, there have been few people with their feet planted more firmly on the ground than the Forest head coach.
Even in the build-up to Sunday’s home game against Newcastle United, Nuno had warned there were “improvements” that needed to be made by his Forest side, “mistakes” to be addressed.
There was an irony to be found in the fact that Newcastle subsequently earned a 3-1 win by doing some of the exact things that have carried Forest this far — attacking with pace, purpose and directness down the flanks. Two of their goals came via rapid counter-attacks out wide, as they found rare chinks in the armour of a Forest side that had conceded only seven times in their first 10 Premier League games this season.
The last time Forest conceded so few goals in their opening 10 matches was when they won what was then the Division One title in 1977-78 (when they also conceded seven).
There will be a level of frustration for Nuno that Forest were beaten at their own game but his focus in the post-match press conference was again on where they need to get better.
“I always believe every game gives you a chance to improve and a lesson to take,” he said. “Today, I think our improvement should be in the momentum of our decisions. We rushed our decisions and were not able to keep the ball (for) enough time to make Newcastle players drop (deeper). When you attack and you defend and the team is organised, you know they (chances) are going to come. It is something we have to address.
“Even though we lost, I am very pleased. All of us at Forest should be proud of our players and the way we have been working together. Let’s go again. I’ve been proud from day one of the way we’ve been working as a team.”
Chris Wood, who had scored five goals in his previous four Premier League appearances, did not have a single clear opportunity to add to that tally against his previous club after seeing an effort blocked in the first few minutes.
Forest’s goal came in memorable fashion, as defender Murillo — who had previously come close to scoring his first for the club via a series of increasingly spectacular efforts from long distance — finally got it with a close-range header. Albeit one that was delivered with his usual level of power.
You sense his swashbuckling spirit will fit right in with the Brazil international squad; he has been called up for the first time for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Uruguay.
Newcastle’s Dan Burn might have been shown a second yellow card after bringing down Jota Silva — but it was a borderline call for referee Anthony Taylor, even if the City Ground erupted into a cauldron of noise as the crowd tried to encourage him to make a different decision.
It would be an easy narrative to blame a match official who courted controversy when he, as fourth official, talked referee Rob Jones into sending off Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White against Brighton in September — a decision which also led to Nuno collecting a red card of his own, for his angry reaction to it, which culminated in a three-match touchline ban.
But the truth was that, as Nuno returned to the dugout for the first time since that day, Newcastle were simply the better side; it was a deserved win for Eddie Howe’s visitors from the north-east.
Forest’s xG figure of 0.58 was their second lowest for a game in the Premier League this season, after the 0.4 in the 1-0 away win against Liverpool in September. Other than Murillo, their only efforts on target came from a Ryan Yates header and an angled effort by his fellow defensive midfielder Nico Dominguez. Anthony Elanga provided a neat assist for Murillo, but otherwise a front four of he, Wood, Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi had an uncharacteristically quiet day.
Before this, Forest had won three Premier League games in a row. The last time they won four straight in the top flight was also in that 1994-95 season, during the April and May en route to coming third behind only champions Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United. That is another sign of their progress.
And this defeat is unlikely to change the attitude of their head coach. Nuno’s outlook was perfectly summed up by his column in the matchday programme yesterday, in which he responded to a question from a fan: How far can this team go this season and are you and your staff excited?
“We are happy, proud and committed to the challenge we set ourselves at the start of the season,” Nuno replied, within a decidedly succinct response. “The only thing I expect from the team is that we compete today and train the next day in the best way possible. That is what I expect from the team, we do not think beyond that. We enjoy our day-to-day work with this spectacular group.”
The scale of improvement at Forest this season has been remarkable, but the desire and demand for more, from their head coach, is unlikely to waver.
(Top photo: Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images)
