Vítor Pereira had promised Nottingham Forest would approach this assignment with a “Champions League mentality” and his players did not disappoint him.
A fabulous attacking performance not merely succeeded in ruining Sunderland’s lingering European ambitions but also lifted 16th-placed Forest to 39 points. That is within touching distance of safety and given Pereira’s team are now six points clear of West Ham and eight in front of Tottenham, the struggle to avoid the final remaining relegation place is surely between the two London clubs now.
Morgan Gibbs-White talks to Sky Sports
I didn’t think we could top the other day [against Burnley], but we did. It shows the character and confidence we have right now going into games. Most of it comes from the gaffer.
It’s been a difficult season but we’re settled now and we’ve got a good way of playing.
[On setting up Chris Wood’s goal] He’s had a tough time with injury, and then a few games back without getting his first goal, so the first thought in my mind was to give it to him. I had no doubt he’d tuck it away. He deserves it; he’s worked so hard to come back and help the boys.
[On his World Cup chances] My full focus is on getting Forest safe and seeing how far we can go in the Europa League. I can only control my performances here. Whatever will be, will be.
We’ve put ourselves in a good position [to stay up] but we’ve got a tough run of games so we have to remain focussed.
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Forest reaction
Elliot Anderson
We’re on a good run at the minute. It took a while but we fully believe in ourselves, the manager is right behind us and we’re enjoying it.
[On his goal] I was really happy to score here, and I know my mum (who died earlier this month) would have been proud as well, so I’m happy.
Chris Wood
It was just building on what we did in the second half last week. We wanted to start fast and to did what we did was fantastic.
[On Anderson] He’s an extraordinary man. The stuff he and has family have gone through in the last couple of weeks is truly heartbreaking. That goal was a tribute to his mum, definitely, and Helen’s always in our thoughts.
Full time: Sunderland 0-5 Nottm Forest
And then there were two. The relegation battle, surely, is between West Ham and Tottenham now. Nottingham Forest have roared to the brink of safety by scoring nine goals in the last game and a half. They made a mockery of what looked a very tough fixture by scoring four goals in 21 delirious first-half minutes. And now they can really enjoy the Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-5 Nottm Forest (Anderson 90+5)
The perfect finish for Forest. Elliot Anderson, once of Newcastle and now one of the best midfield players in the entire country, has scored Forest’s fifth goal. Dominguez and Awoniyi played their part in a nice move before Anderson swept a first-time shot past Roefs from 15 yards.
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90 min Seven minutes of added time, much of it for the VAR check that led to Ballard’s goal being disallowed.
89 min Brobbey goes down after a handsy challenge from the last man Milenkovic. The referee isn’t interested, nor are VAR. There wasn’t a great deal of contact.
88 min: Forest substitution Taiwo Awoniyi replaces Chris Wood, whose expertly taken goal put Forest 2-0 up in the first half.
87 min: Fine save by Sels!
Milenkovic’s clearance goes as far as Le Fee, 25 yards from goal. He chests the ball down and cuts across a ferocious shot that is pawed over superbly by Sels as he flies to his right. That’s easily the best save of the night.
85 min Isidor, 20 yards out, hits a smart short on the turn that is held to his right by Sels. Decent save.
The second half has been a non-event, no great surprise given the scoreline.
81 min Xhaka waves a fine pass over the top to Isidor, whose cutback is cleared at the near post by Morato.
79 min I’m not sure whether this is relevant to Forest anymore, but West Ham and Spurs are both in action at 3pm tomorrow.
West Ham v Everton
Wolves v Spurs
76 min Alderete sprays a half-volley over the bar from distance. And why not?
76 min Yates pushes Mukiele over and is booked. That’s the seventh yellow card of the game, all in the last 25 minutes.
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74 min Xhaka shoots wide from distance, turns round and gives the referee a mouthful about something or other. He’s booked.
72 min Forest haven’t really bothered to attack in the second half. They’ve had no shots and one touch in the Sunderland box; given the scoreline, that’s more than enough.
69 min Forest continue to collect yellow cards. This time it’s Williams, who crumps Reinildo on the foot after being beaten to a 50/50 ball.
67 min: Double substitution for Forest Ryan Yates and Luca Netz replace Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson.
Forest play Aston Villa at the City Ground next Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, so this is a decent opportunity to rest players.
66 min That VAR check took almost five minutes; Sunderland will hope they can regain the momentum they had before the goal that wasn’t.
65 min: Sunderland substitution Wilson Isidor comes on for Habib Diarra.
Disallowed goal! Sunderland 0-4 Nottm Forest
65 min Mukiele slipped after keeping that Xhaka free-kick alive and then accidentally tripped Sels, who might otherwise have got to the ball before Ballard.
Updated
62 min The offside has been cleared but now there’s another VAR check for a possible foul by Mukiele on Sels. I think this will go against Sunderland.
Xhaka’s free-kick was lobbed across the six-yard box by Mukiele – I’m not sure whether he was going for goal or not – and headed in by Ballard. There’a VAR check for offside against Mukiele but I think the goal will stand.
GOAL! Sunderland 1-4 Nottm Forest (Ballard 61)
A deserved goal for Sunderland. They and their fans have been brilliant since half-time, almost absurdly so given the scoreline.
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60 min Now Igor Jesus is booked for lunging Reinildo.
58 min The home crowd, who were already making quite a racket, go up a level when the former Newcastle midfielder Anderson is booked for a foul.
57 min Xhaka fires a fine pass into Alderete, whose shot on the turn is saved easily by Sels.
It can’t be much fun resuming a match when you’re 4-0 down at home, but Sunderland are playing with admirable intent.
52 min Hutchinson gets to the byline and somehow digs out a cross that is volleyed back across goal by Anderson. The ball hits Hume and goes behind for… a goalkick. Hutchinson’s cross was adjudged to have gone out of play before swinging back in.
51 min Dominguez is booked for a tactical foul on Diarra, who is also booked for waving an imaginary card.
50 min: Forest substitution Morato replaces Jair Cunha, who shakes his head repeatedly as he is walked off the field.
48 min Jair Cunha may need to come off. He fell badly on his shoulder after a challenge with Brobbey; Morato is warming up.
46 min The second half gets under way. Both teams have made a substitution.
Sunderland Reinildo for Chris Rigg.
Nottm Forest Nicolas Dominguez for Ibrahim Sangare.
There were boos at the half-time whistle, and it looks like Nordi Mukiele had a full and frank exchange of views with some of the home fans.
Half-time reading
Zadie Smith once wrote that “the square mile around Arsenal’s stadium could be a suitable surrogate for the whole wide world”. Perhaps you only really glimpse this on a match day, when the jerk chicken grills and paella pans fire up and belch delicious smoke across the rows of terraced houses, when the locals in weathered replica shirts brush shoulders with tourists bearing selfie sticks, when a small group of dedicated volunteers at a kiosk by the Ken Friar Bridge accepts non-perishable donations for the Islington food bank.
And you shall scoff, and you shall sneer, because there is a north London of the popular imagination, and Islington in particular, which has become a surrogate for something else entirely. A slur, an insult, a byword for privilege and entitlement and metropolitan effeteness, the place of Blair and Corbyn and Starmer and a shrink on every street corner. North London is elite, north London is out of touch, north London looks down on the rest of you while eating plates of £16 pasta.
In this telling the idea of Arsenal surrendering a nine-point lead in the Premier League title race feels richly poetic: just and right and perhaps even moral. The neutrals have swung firmly behind Manchester City, who assumed the lead with a 1-0 win over Burnley on Wednesday night. After all, Pep Guardiola’s team play fair, play football in the way it is supposed to be played, brook no underlying ethical or geopolitical objections.
Manchester, as we know, is a city entirely devoid of liberal sensibilities or progressive sentiment. Every title race needs a hero and a heel, and while these two clubs may be inseparable in terms of points or goal difference, while many have no strong feelings about who should win, there appears to be a tightening consensus over who should lose.
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Half time: Sunderland 0-4 Nottm Forest
At half-time last Sunday, Forest were 1-0 down at home to Burnley and in a spot of bother. Since then they’ve scored eight goals without reply – four at the City Ground last Sunday, four during a crazy first half at the Stadium of Light.
An unfortunate own goal from Trai Hume was followed by accomplished finishes from Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus. When it starts to make sense, I’ll let you know.
44 min This will make it 12 points in the last six league games for Forest, who are surely/almost certainly staying up.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Leeds | 34 | -7 | 40 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 34 | -5 | 39 |
| 17 | West Ham | 33 | -17 | 33 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 33 | -11 | 31 |
| 19 | Burnley | 34 | -34 | 20 |
43 min It’s still 4-0, and it’s still mildly bonkers.
39 min “It does feel like Forest are not so much inching away from relegation as they’re strapped to a rocket towards safety,” writes Kári Tulinius. “In another game tonight, Stade Brestois lead RC Lens 3-0 at half time, surely ending the latter’s unlikely title tilt. This is the part of the season where nearly stories sputter to a halt.”
Oh, thanks a lot for bringing up 1991-92 again. It’s too soon!
Updated
Forest have now scored eight goals in their last 75 minutes of football. A free-kick from the right was cleared as far as Aina on the edge of the D. His snapshot hit a defender and looped across goal to Igor Jesus, who cushioned a terrific volley into the net.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-4 Nottm Forest (Igor Jesus 37)
What the actual Forest?!
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36 min The relegation battle now looks like a two-horse race between West Ham and Spurs.
This is beyond Forest’s wildest ones. A corner on the left was taken short and curled beyond the far post by Williams. Igor Jesus headed it down to Gibbs-White, 12 yards out, and he cracked an emphatic finish through the crowd.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-3 Nottm Forest (Gibbs-White 34)
Gibbs-White didn’t control the ball that time either. He just lashed it first time into the net!
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33 min Almost a third for Forest! After a quick break, Hutchinson hammered a ball across the face of goal; it then bounced awkwardly at Gibbs-White, who couldn’t quite control it.
Roefs tried a very risky straight pass that was partially intercepted by the stretching Wood. The ball deflected to Gibbs-White, who assessed the angles in a split-second and fired a superb pass back into Wood. He took a quick touch to control the ball and clipped it past the outrushing Roefs. It’s his first Premier League goal since August.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-2 Nottm Forest (Wood 31)
Chris Wood gobbles up a gift from Robin Roefs to double Forest’s lead!
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28 min Gibbs-White’s long-range shot is headed away by Ballard, but Forest regain possession and Hutchinson wins a corner. They’re playing some excellent football.
26 min Le Fee’s free-kick hits the top of the ball. Sunderland keep it alive until Alderete heads over from 14 yards. Good luck with that.
25 min Lovely feet from Le Fee, who draws a foul from Milenkovic just outside the area. The free-kick is to the right of centre, with Xhaka and Le Fee are over the ball…
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24 min A heavy touch from Williams jiggers another promising Forest move. They’re having an excellent spell.
23 min As it stands, Forest are (almost certainly) staying up.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 34 | -8 | 39 |
| 17 | West Ham | 33 | -17 | 33 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 33 | -11 | 31 |
| 19 | Burnley | 34 | -34 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 33 | -37 | 17 |
Updated
22 min Wood, released by an excellent pass from Anderson, runs at a static Sunderland defence and forces a left-foot shot from the edge of the area that is pushed away by Roefs. The shot was too close to him.
Updated
19 min At the other end, Sadiki makes room for a shot that is well blocked.
Igor Jesus wheeled away in celebration but replays show it was an own goal from Trai Hume. Omari Hutchinson took a short corner on the right, got it back and curled a booming cross beyond the far post. Igor Jesus met it near the byline with a header across goal that hit the back of Trai Hume’s head and flew into the net. Roefs had no chance.
Updated
GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 Nottm Forest (Hume og 17)
Forest take the lead!
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15 min What a run from Dan Ballard! He was starting to make his way back following a Sunderland corner when he spotted the chance to muscle Anderson off the ball 25 yards from goal. Then he slipped past Aina in the area, resisted Aina’s recovery tackle and screwed a low ball that ran right across the face of goal. All hail Dan Beckenballard.
13 min: Good save by Roefs! Alderete plays a poor pass out of defence that goes straight to Igor Jesus. He finds Hutchinson, whose whipped shot from the edge of the area is pushed away by the diving Roefs. It’s a good save but Hutchinson’s shot wasn’t right in the corner.
11 min Anderson’s dangerous cross is shanked behind for a corner by Hume. Nowt comes of it.
10 min Sadiki has had his hand bandaged and is back on the field.
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9 min Sadiki has gone to the touchline for more treatment to his hand.
8 min: Chance for Rigg! Le Fee takes advantage of a ricochet to collect a loose ball and put Rigg through on goal to his right. He opens his body but sidefoots straight at Selz from 15 yards.
6 min Both sides have started pretty well, with the game being played at a nice pace.
At least it was being played a nice pace: there is currently a short break in play while Sadiki receives treatment. Sangare accidentally stood on his hand.
3 min A regrettable square pass from Sadiki, deep in his own half, is nicked by Hutchinson. Alderete makes an immportant challenge on the edge of the area and Anderson’s long-range shot deflects over the bar for a corner.
The corner is half cleared to Williams, who mishits a difficult volley well wide.
1 min Forest kick off from left to right as we watch. You can’t beat an evening match starting in daylight.
As usual, there’s a cracking atmosphere at the Stadium of Light. The players are ready for action. Shall we?
Regis Le Bris talks to Sky Sports
[On the 4-3 defeat at Villa] We tried to impose our ideas at Villa – it wasn’t easy because they have many good players – but we tried. It was a tight game and we had the opportunity to win it.
[On Sunderland’s European hopes] The most important thing is to win games. The first step is to be strong at home. The middle of the table is tight; if you don’t win, you can’t expect anything.
Vitor Pereira talks to Sky Sports
[On Forest’s excellent form] I think we’ve been more consistent mentally and tactically. We’ve had more time to work so the players know what we want better than before.
[On picking Igor Jesus and Chris Wood together] We need to score goals. They are two players who work a lot defensively, which means I can play both of them.
Sunderland are a strong team, especially at home – very competitive with quality. We need to treat this like a Champions League game.
“While no one expected Forest to maintain last season’s performance level, it was inconceivable that they would be flirting with relegation by May,” writes Krishnamoothy V. “Did Forest lose it when they parted with Nuno?”
I think they parted with Nuno because they’d lost it. But I really like Vitor Pereira and Forest have looked a top-half side since he took over.
The return fixture at the City Ground helped set the tone for both teams’ seasons.
Read Louise Taylor’s preview
Team news
Sunderland make two changes, both in defence, to the side that lost 4-3 at Villa Park. Dan Ballard and Trai Hume replace Luke O’Nien and Reinildo.
Forest bring in Jair Cunha and Igor Jesus for Murillo, who has a muscle injury, and Dilane Bakwa. Igor Jesus came off the bench at half-time last weekend, with Forest losing at home to Burnley, and scored the final goal in their 4-1 win. The man who scored the first three, Morgan Gibbs-White, will roam from the left.
Sunderland (4-2-3-1) Roefs; Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Hume; Xhaka, Sadiki; Rigg, Diarra, Le Fee; Brobbey.
Subs: Ellborg, Cirkin, Reinildo, Geertruida, O’Nien, Talbi, Mayenda, Isidor, H Jones.
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1) Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Jair Cunha, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Igor Jesus, Gibbs-White; Wood.
Subs: Ortega, Morata, Awoniyi, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Bakwa.
Referee Darren England.
Updated
Preamble
Friday night, who wants a fight? Not this peaceable Guardianista, that’s for sure, and not Nottingham Forest. They’re trying to escape a relegation fight – and can go a long way towards achieving that if they win at Sunderland tonight.
Forest are 16th in the table, five points clear of Tottenham with five games remaining. This time last year they were fourth, but although the change in Forest’s league position has made things a lot more complicated, their objective is essentially the same: to play Champions League and Premier League football next season.
Forest play both legs of their humdinging Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa in the next fortnight. A positive result at the Stadium of Light would allow them to embrace that without worrying about what’s over their shoulder.
At the start of the season, most people agreed that Forest’s opponents were never going to be in a relegation battle come late April. That’s because Sunderland were supposed to be long gone by now, with only their parachute for company,. An occasionally flat second half of the season should not obscure a remarkable first season back in the Premier League, one of the best by a promoted team in the past decade.
It’s not over yet. Sunderland start the game in 11th but will move up to eighth – above Chelsea, the world club champions – if they win tonight. Who knows, this time next year they might be in a European semi-final themselves.
Kick off 8pm BST.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 33 | 37 | 70 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 33 | 37 | 70 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 33 | 13 | 58 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 33 | 6 | 58 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 33 | 11 | 55 |
| 6 | Brighton | 34 | 9 | 50 |
| 7 | AFC Bournemouth | 34 | 0 | 49 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 34 | 8 | 48 |
| 9 | Brentford | 33 | 4 | 48 |
| 10 | Everton | 33 | 1 | 47 |
| 11 | Sunderland | 33 | -4 | 46 |
| 12 | Fulham | 33 | -3 | 45 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 32 | -1 | 43 |
| 14 | Newcastle | 33 | -3 | 42 |
| 15 | Leeds | 34 | -7 | 40 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 33 | -9 | 36 |
| 17 | West Ham | 33 | -17 | 33 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 33 | -11 | 31 |
| 19 | Burnley | 34 | -34 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 33 | -37 | 17 |
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