Nottingham Forest rise to third after Anthony Elanga goal sees off Tottenham

Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga finishes neatly beyond Fraser Forster to score for a third game in a row. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images

The mist rolled in with such ­increasing density from the Trent that even­tually it was difficult to make out which Tottenham player was running down which blind alley. But what is crystal clear is ­Nottingham Forest’s momentum which, after Anthony Elanga’s third goal in successive games, has lifted them into third place in the Premier League.

Nuno Espírito Santo, Forest’s former Spurs manager, has organised his team so efficiently that they now have 34 points from 18 games, more than in the whole of last season – and the same tally they had at this stage in 1987‑88 when Brian Clough was ­manager, eight seasons after the European Cup had been retained.