Nottingham Forest got back to winning ways on Monday, thanks to first half goals from Elliot Anderson (£5.0m) and Chris Wood (£6.9m).
The Tricky Trees 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur is the next Gameweek 33 match to get the Scout Notes treatment.
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WHY ELANGA WAS SUBBED OFF
In-form Anthony Elanga (£5.4m) started this match and looked dangerous in the first half.
Playing through the middle with license to roam, he provided the assist for Wood’s goal, so it came as a bit of a surprise to see him substituted at the break.
The switch involved a tactical reshuffle.
With Forest more than happy to back themselves defensively, Morato (£4.5m) was sent on, as Nuno Espirito Santo moved to a back five formation.
“We were controlling the game but Tottenham were having lots of crosses and space in the wide areas, so it [half time change] was about having an extra man and squeezing a bit more. You have one less man to press in midfield but you then have one more in the box.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
WOOD ENDS GOAL DROUGHT
Chris Wood ended his drought in north London, notching his 19th Premier League goal of the season and his first since Gameweek 25.
It was the Kiwi forwards’ only shot of the match, but he did impress with his overall centre-forward play, and prior to this goal, had another effort ruled out by VAR.
Forest’s game plan hardly helped, with the Tricky Trees happy to defend deep and soak up the pressure.
In fact, Nuno’s entire team were restricted to just four shots and 0.64 expected goals (xG) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Still, it was a positive night for Wood, who was withdrawn on 75 minutes, surely with one eye on Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.
SPURS DEFENCE BODES WELL FOR LIVERPOOL IN GAMEWEEK 34
As for Tottenham, to say they’ve got defensive issues would be an understatement.
Spurs supporters booed the team off at half-time on Monday, having allowed Forest to build a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Guglielmo Vicario (£4.8m), who made a string of errors at Molineux in Gameweek 32, really ought to have done better with both goals, as well as the one that was ruled out.
Cristian Romero (£4.9m) and Micky van de Ven (£4.5m), meanwhile, struggled to deal with long balls.
“Another disappointing loss. A loss that for large parts was self-inflicted. We conceded two poor goals and gave ourselves a mountain to climb. It’s hurt us all year, we’ve let ourselves down. It’s a game we should have won tonight and it’s another one this year. There shouldn’t have been a slow start.” – Ange Postecoglou
“It’s the finer details… concentration, focus, understanding the threats the opposition have.” – Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham face Liverpool at Anfield next, in what could be the match that confirms the Reds as champions.
And with an important UEFA Europa League semi-final against FK Bodo/Glimt to follow just a few days later, owners of Liverpool attackers will have been licking their lips watching this.
“It is a bit of a balancing act. We have got to be ready for Thursday week, that is the big game for us. We have to have all of our players healthy and in good condition.” – Ange Postecoglou
RICHARLISON THREAT
Tottenham did at least improve after conceding twice, with Mathys Tel (£5.8m) and Wilson Odobert (£5.3m) dangerous down the flanks.
They finally got the breakthrough when Richarlison (£6.8m), who started in place of Dominic Solanke (£7.3m) up front, glanced Pedro Porro’s (£5.3m) cross into the far corner beyond the impressive Matz Sels (£5.1m).
Richarlison racked up seven shots in the box in Gameweek 33, including three big chances.
Above: Richarlison’s shot map v Nottingham Forest
Porro, meanwhile, whipped in 23 (!) crosses and created seven chances for his team-mates.
There were other opportunities, too, with Dejan Kulusevski (£6.2m) having a header cleared off the line.
Spurs had nothing to show for it, however, even if on another day, Forest could easily have conceded two or three.
Finally, Postecoglou confirmed that Romero and van de Ven’s half-time changes were pre-planned.
“I thought they needed to play some minutes tonight because it becomes 10 days leading into Liverpool. With both of them we’ve got them in a really good place physically now and I just want to keep them ticking over. I felt that there was no need to play more than 45 minutes today and we need to get a couple of others game time.
“I just felt that if it was Sunday we probably wouldn’t have played them, but on a Monday, especially for Micky because he’s been playing just one game a week, we need to build him up because he’s in a really good place at the moment so I thought 45 minutes for both of them would be beneficial.” – Ange Postecoglou on his pre-planned half-time changes
