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This week Nottingham Forest readied themselves for the Champions League, Evangelos Marinakis relinquishing his controlling interest in the club to comply with Uefa’s ownership rules. Marinakis’s other club, Greek champions Olympiakos, have already qualified for the grandest stage in the club game but Forest’s bid to return to European competition will probably go to the wire. Will Forest, who remain sixth, look back on defeat at home to Brentford as a costly misstep when their season ends here against Chelsea, one of those teams vying for a top-five berth?
Forest, who face Crystal Palace, Leicester and West Ham before that potential final-day showdown, never really got going on a disappointing evening. Goals from Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa, a January target for Forest, condemned the hosts to successive league home defeats for the first time since the end of last season. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have now lost four of their past five matches in all competitions, including Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final loss. For Brentford, an efficient and boisterous display was almost the perfect away performance.
How would Forest respond to defeat at Wembley? “You grieve, and then you react,” Nuno said before this match. There was no dressing up the value of victory. Forest were able to recall Ola Aina to the starting lineup for the first time in a month and, in theory at least, were fully powered. The first half, however, did not go to plan, with Schade’s goal a minute before two of stoppage time sending this stadium, undoubtedly one of the best in the league when at maximum volume, into near-silence. Nuno, hands on hips, stared into the distance as every one of Brentford’s players, in businesslike black shirts, ambled over towards the corner flag to join Schade.
It was a very un-Forest goal to concede. Nathan Collins pinged a diagonal pass 60 yards upfield and Schade slithered between Aina and Nikola Milenkovic to latch on to the ball. Schade tried to take the pass down with the outside of his right boot but his miscontrol worked in his favour, the ball’s path tricking Aina, who slipped at the crucial moment. It got even messier, too, the ball bobbling off the torso of the Brentford forward before he prodded it in. A hush descended on the City Ground as Schade went knee-sliding across the turf in celebration.
Forest had largely flattered to deceive. Aina had Keane Lewis-Potter walking a tightrope after he was booked for an early barge on Anthony Elanga and it was no surprise to see Rico Henry replace the Brentford full-back at the interval. Forest were forced into a half-time change, Nicolás Domínguez replacing the injured and unusually ineffective Callum Hudson-Odoi. Morgan Gibbs-White throttled a shot across goal and Elliot Anderson sent a tame effort at Mark Flekken but the visitors deserved their lead at the break. Brentford made a fast start, Schade heading at goal inside two minutes and Christian Norgaard and Sepp van den Berg also going close.
Forest’s season has been built on a sturdy defence, Milenkovic and Murillo one of the best centre-back partnerships in the division, but here they were not quite so assured. Across the board, too. Nuno turned on his heels in disgust when Hudson-Odoi cut inside, allowing Wissa to comfortably poach possession midway through the first half and in the second Murillo body-checked an advancing Bryan Mbeumo on halfway. There was an anxiety to Forest’s play, underlined by poor decision-making and a white noise in the stands, a constant chatter and uneasiness. Nuno recognised Forest needed a lift and on the hour introduced the striker Taiwo Awoniyi in place of the midfielder Anderson.
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Forest dialled up the pressure. Elanga cut inside Michael Kayode and then Van den Berg before forcing Flekken into a fine save low down to his left, then Aina scooped a cross towards Wood. Forest finally thought they were getting somewhere and then Brentford doubled their lead. Milenkovic misjudged the bounce from Flekken’s booming kick downfield and Wissa raced on to the ball in a flash before keeping his cool to dink it over the Forest goalkeeper, Matz Sels. A look of disbelief covered Murillo’s face, Aina shook his head.
Mbeumo wrapped his left boot around the ball after Brentford breezed forward with a couple of minutes to spare in search of a third goal. For Forest, it promises to be a nervy few weeks.
