Nottingham Forest ended Brentford’s unbeaten home run with a deserved 2-0 win in west London to ensure they will spend Christmas inside the Premier League’s top four.
Forest recovered from a slow start at the Gtech to burst Brentford’s undefeated bubble with goals in either half from Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga.
The leggy Bees, playing their third game in less than a week, soon ran out of steam after flying out of the blocks with little answer to Forest’s fast-moving forward play, and should have been behind by the time Aina struck.
Chris Wood was denied by a superb Mark Flekken save when he should have given the goalkeeper no chance from a six-yard header had he placed it better.
He and Forest did not have to wait long to make amends as six minutes later, the wing-back was allowed to travel 40 yards unmarked to turn Neco Williams’ low cross back into the far corner.
Five minutes into the second period it was game over as Elanga robbed Keane Lewis-Potter after a heavy touch, before turning inside Ben Mee and finding a similarly well-placed finish to beat Flekken.
The Bees had little answer to avoid a first home defeat since the final day of last season but did go close through Kristoffer Ajer, whose powerful rising drive hit Matz Sels in the face on its way over the crossbar.
But Forest, already boasting the Premier League’s third-best defensive record, showed why they will spend Christmas ahead of Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle and the rest as they cruised to their fifth away win of the season – as many as across both of their previous seasons since promotion.
Analysis: Forest might be the real deal as rivals struggle
Sky Sports’ Ron Walker at the Gtech Community Stadium:
With almost half a season gone and Nottingham Forest refusing to budge from the top four, it’s time to start asking how far they can actually go.
Nuno Espirito Santo says he doesn’t look at the table but his selection was one of a manager with confidence in his team to make the most of their attacking talent and end Brentford’s unbeaten home run as they duly did.
Three defeats from four in late autumn would have halted many previous early pace-setters but Forest have bounced back with three wins from three – especially impressive coming at Old Trafford, the Gtech and at home to Aston Villa.
The spine of this Forest team is strong and Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo are as solid a defensive partnership as you will find across the Premier League. Up front, Chris Wood could easily end up on 15 goals or more.
A big question mark lies with where else goals will come from, given 43 per cent have come from the big front man so far.
But a bigger one is whether the likes of Manchester City, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester United will find form to knock Forest off their European perch, or whether they can go on to recreate some flashbacks of the Brian Clough era this season.
Frank: We performed well despite defeat
Brentford manager Thomas Frank:
“I thought we performed well, if I’m honest. I thought we were on top in a lot of moments but we had more dangerous moments without having clear-cut chances. Defensively, it was probably our best performance of the season.
“Of course we’ve conceded two goals. That’s different. The second goal is obviously a mistake. The first one we can do better too, no doubt about that.
“Nottingham Forest have played 4-2-3-1 all season but changed to a 5-4-1 here, which is a credit to what we’ve done [at home].”
Nuno: We’ve achieved nothing yet
Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo:
“We had to change [our approach] and the boys did well. It was about holding the result. Brentford caused us problems in the second half but we dealt with it, which shows the character and resilience in the team.
“We’re improving, becoming more mature in terms of control. Overall it was a good performance. Until the last minute it was about keeping the clean sheet. That save from Matz Sels [from Kristoffer Ajer] was huge for us.
“It’s not about the table. It’s about improving, realising that there is still a long way to go and that we’ve achieved nothing yet.”
