Brennan Johnson’s second-half winner against East Midlands rivals Leicester saw Nottingham Forest record back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season.
The Wales international opened the scoring when he raced on to Morgan Gibbs-White’s through ball and rounded Danny Ward before scoring his fifth goal of the season.
The same pair combined for the second goal, Johnson collecting Gibbs-White’s fine pass before slotting the ball into the far corner.
Leicester offered little as an attacking threat, with Harvey Barnes denied his best effort in the first half when he fired a first-time effort wide when unmarked inside the penalty area.
The win lifted Forest to 13th in the table and five points clear of the bottom three, with Leicester, who have now lost four Premier League games in a row, just two points clear of the drop zone in 15th. is at a distance of
Forest on the rise
Steve Cooper’s future as Forest manager looks in doubt after a 4-0 defeat by Leicester in October, their fifth successive defeat, left the club bottom of the table.
However, Forest responded by offering Cooper a new contract and he has since been rewarded for this show of loyalty with just three defeats in 11 Premier League games.
“I reminded the players of the support of the fans when we were 4-0 down at the King Power,” Cooper told the BBC’s Match of the Day. “So we wanted to give something back to the fans.”
They were deserved winners here thanks to a much-improved second-half performance after a dramatic opening 45 minutes with Johnson and Gibbs-White at the heart of all their good play.
Their opener arrived when Gibbs-White found himself in space in the center circle and played the ball to Johnson, who initially had his celebrations flagged for offside before the goal was awarded by the video assistant referee. Seen while shortening.
Gibbs White’s assist for the second was even better, with his right-footed outside pass finding Johnson, whose fine first touch took the ball away from the chasing defender and into the far corner. Allowed to give power.
“I’m really happy that Brennan scored from open play,” added Cooper. “It’s coming, he’s working really hard and meeting his goals very well. He deserves it and the team deserves it. He finished a really good day.”
It’s been a memorable few days for Forest after their penalty shootout win over Wolves saw them reach the semi-finals of the EFL Cup.
The only concern was a late muscle injury to goalkeeper Dan Henderson when he took a goal kick, with Cooper later revealing it “didn’t look good”.
Forest had used up all their substitutes so could not bring on a substitute, but Henderson continued to see the game on.
Foxes post-match slump continues
The scenes of jubilation among Forest supporters were in stark contrast to the angry reaction of fans at the final whistle, who made their displeasure at the performance clear.
After revitalizing their season with five wins from six ahead of the World Cup, Leicester’s form has dipped since the restart and they fall dangerously close to the bottom three, putting pressure on manager Brendan Rodgers. have gone
In a game of few chances, the Foxes will rue that early miss from Barnes, who also squandered another good chance early in the second when he was played in by Uri Tillmans.
But after falling behind shortly after, what little attacking threat Leicester had given away and they rarely looked like getting back into the game, managing just one shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.
“We weren’t good in the second half, I thought in the first half we were the better team but didn’t take our chances,” Rodgers told BBC Match of the Day.
“In fairness to Brennan Johnson, he executed his chances very well. He scored two of his chances and we just couldn’t do it.
“We are trying our best but we are not good enough. We have to do our best and we will keep fighting.
“On a personal level, I know the game. I’ve come to do my best and that’s all I’ll do. It’s been really frustrating since the World Cup break.”
