North Forest 3 – 2 Southampton
Nottingham Forest beat Premier League strugglers Southampton 3-2 at the City Stadium, surviving a late scare to move level with second-placed Arsenal.
Forest held on after conceding a second goal in stoppage time and secured another crucial win on Saturday as the Gunners squandered a two-goal lead against Aston Villa , there is only a goal difference between the two teams.
Two fine first-half strikes from Elliot Anderson and Callum Hudson-Odoi, before Chris Wood set up his 14th goal of the season, looked like Forest were on course. The last 30 minutes were insanely dominant.
Jan Bednarek guided Lesley Ugochukwu's shot over the head of Matz Sels in the 60th minute before injury time Stage substitute Paul Onuachu scored the second goal to reduce the deficit to just one goal.
After a lengthy VAR delay to confirm Bednarek's goal and rule out Nikola Milenkovic's fourth goal for Forest, the game was extended by a further 12 minutes, or 720 seconds. , which felt like a lifetime for the home fans.
However, Forest's lead remained intact, buoyed by tenacious defense and an Ola Aina goal-line clearance.
Their Champions League dreams are now cemented with this win, while Southampton's chances of survival are slimmer as they remain 10 points adrift of safety.
Nuno: Southampton is a warning
nottingham forest boss Nuno Espiritu Santo:
“We talk all the time about how competitive this league is. You never think the game is over. Credit to Southampton for causing so many problems.
“We started really well and everything became easier. The second half started well but it was really weird. A lot of suspensions and VAR decisions. It didn't really flow.
“We didn't handle the situation well. It's nice to win the game. It's a warning. We have a lot of things to improve on. We know our weaknesses and our strengths.”
Juric: When we do this, we are competitive
southampton boss Ivan Yurik:
“We didn't play with intensity and energy. The first goal was really bad. After a big game against (Manchester United) United, we were very disappointed with our performance in the first half.
“We were more energetic in the second half and scored two goals. This is the team I want to watch.
“The first time against Manchester United, I thought this was my team. In the last 40 minutes today, I saw what I wanted to see. When we play like this, we are competitive.”
Forest vs Saints head-to-head match
Sky Sports' Patrick Rowe:
How quickly the game of football changes.
From scoring 3 goals with only 0.28 xG expected goals, to holding on to the slimmest of leads in stoppage time.
Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson celebrates a goal
Nuno Espiritu Santo Santo's side showed their duality today – which is why they are now level on points with second-placed Arsenal.
Their attacking prowess spoke for itself, as evidenced by a strong first half, but they came away with all three points thanks to a stoic defensive performance late in the game.
As the pressure mounted, every Southampton attack looked dangerous, with the team pulling together and dragging themselves over the line.
Forest are the real team, thanks in large part to their commitment on defense.
Southampton need to play 90 minutes
Sky Sports' Patrick Rowe:
Just like their game against Manchester United, Southampton showed enough promise and threat in stoppage time to finally win today.
Southampton's Paul Onuachu celebrates his team's second goal of the game
If they had the same intention throughout the entire 90 minutes, they wouldn't come away empty-handed – as Juric rightly pointed out.
However, like relegation rivals Leicester City, Saints failed to put in a positive performance throughout the game which could ultimately be their downfall.
Juric will learn more about his side as time goes on, but one thing is clear – they look even more threatening under target man Paul Onuachu, who played today Scored his first Premier League goal, leading the team.
“He has that quality,” Juric said. “He's a fighter and has a very good mind. He'll be very good to us and happy for him.”