Tottenham is ready to get back on the winning track with a second straight win against Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham won 2-0 against Nottingham Forest in the 17th round of the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL) at the Nottingham City Ground in England on Saturday (KST).
The win was Tottenham's second in a row, following their previous victory over Newcastle. It's been seven weeks since Spurs have won back-to-back games since Oct. 28, when they won four in a row against Crystal Palace. Spurs remain fifth in the standings, but are level on 33 points with fourth-place Manchester City, who have played one game less. Nottingham, on the other hand, failed to pick up a point with the loss and dropped to 16th in the league.
The home side lined up in a 3-5-2. Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White were up front, with Ryan Yates, Orel Mangala, and Sheikh Kouyate in the middle. The wingbacks were Nico Williams and Harry Topolo, while the back three was Willy Boly, Murillo, and Moussa Niakite. Matt Turner was in goal.
Tottenham went with a 4-2-3-1. The front line was dominated by the Frenchman. Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kluczewski, and Son Heung-min supported him in the second line. Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma teamed up in the third. The back four was Destiny Udoji, Christian Romero, Ben Davies, and Pedro Foro. Guglielmo Vicario was in goal.
Leading up to the game, there was some speculation about what position Son Heung-min would play. Heung-Min Son was named to the starting lineup with injury concerns ahead of the last game against Newcastle, but he made it through without any issues. However, he did start on the left wing, which is where he has been playing for a long time, rather than in the front line.
Predictions of Son's change in position emerged ahead of the Newcastle game. Football London's predicted lineup for Newcastle read, "Heung-min starts, with Pape Sarr coming in. "I didn't think Tottenham would do well against West Ham," said Lee Wilmot of Football London, "Pape will start now that he's back from injury, with Ross Barkley in front of him. Heung-Min Son had a good game against Man City, but I don't think the current situation is good for him. I think he'll play on the left in place of Brennan Johnson, and I think we'll see Xherdan Shaqiri up top," he said.
True to Wilmot's prediction, Son started on the wing against Newcastle, and his explosive dribbling and passing again helped his team to victory. He finished with one goal and two assists.
Against Nottingham, Postecoglou opted to play Son on the left wing. He chose to play Heung-Min on the left side of the pitch, where he could open up the team from the flanks, and to play Xherdan Shaqiri in the center.Tottenham dominated the game from the start. Son Heung-min had a chance right away. In the third minute of the first half, Kluczewski's sharp penetrating pass from the left was met by Son, who took one touch before firing a right-footed shot that was narrowly saved by Turner.
Nottingham had a lot of pressure on Son. Perhaps conscious of how Heung-min broke down the Newcastle defense from the left in the previous game, the left backs - Williams, Boly, Yates, and others - were constantly on the left side of the field to help contain him. In the fifth minute of the first half, Son picked up the ball on the left side of the Nottingham penalty box and Williams was aggressive in his pursuit, even committing a foul.
He missed the chance following Turner's mistimed kick. In the 12th minute, Turner's attempted pass was intercepted by Bissouma in the center of the box, and the ball was played through Kluczewski and Son to find Khilafa in the middle of the box, but a defender cleared the ball away before he could shoot. On the ensuing chance, Son Heung-min picked up the ball and tried to switch to the right side of the box, but his pass was a little too long and he couldn't finish the attack.
Nottingham fought back. In the 19th minute, Gibbs-White and Elanga linked up to break down the Tottenham right. With Davies and Romero both beaten, Elanga cut into the box and fired a shot that Viquirio did well to keep out with all his might as it sailed over his head. Fortunately, the play had been ruled offside earlier.
Son Heung-min energized the Tottenham attack from the flanks. In the 21st minute, he played a deft one-touch pass from the left side of the box to the front of the penalty area, where the ball found its way to Heung-min. He was surrounded by a defense, but the three defenders flanking him lost track of him for a split second.
Nottingham failed to capitalize on a long throw-in. In the 26th minute, following a long throw-in, the ball landed in front of Tottenham's goal in a dizzying situation. Boly's header found Mangala right in front of goal, but he couldn't get his head on it.
Tottenham's injury woes came out of nowhere in the 28th minute, when a Nottingham free kick was awarded near the Tottenham penalty box, Johnson collided with a player and suffered a head injury. Johnson, who was bleeding profusely, had to leave the field shortly afterward, replaced by Oliver Skip.
Son Heung-min tried a sharp cross. In the 35th minute, his cross from the right side of the penalty box was sent sharply across the face of goal, but it was unfortunately unable to reach the head of the onrushing Foro.
Nottingham and Tottenham played a rough and tumble game, with the pitch becoming cluttered for a while. In the Tottenham half, several players were left lying on the ground as Nottingham and Spurs players repeatedly tackled each other for the ball.
Tottenham tried to break down the left side with Son Heung-min, but it wasn't easy. In the 39th minute, Son's penetration was blocked by Boly, and in the 42nd minute, Son made a run from the left into a space behind the defense, and Davies tried to play him the ball with a long pass, but Turner got to it first.Nottingham capitalized on a set-piece opportunity. In the 43rd minute, Udogie gave away a free kick on the right side of the penalty box when he pushed the ball instead of his body to stop an onrushing Gibbs-White. The referee cautioned Udogie, taking him to five bookings this season and ruling him out of Everton's next game. However, Nottingham were unable to create a threat from their free-kick opportunity.
They failed to capitalize on a chance from Son Heung-min. In first-half stoppage time, Son looked to set up an attack with a pass after finding himself with the defense on the left side of the penalty box, but he couldn't find a rhythm with Kluczewski and wasted the chance.
The frustrating situation was solved by the Frenchman. In first-half stoppage time, Klucepski delivered a left-footed cross to the center of the penalty area. Rising high in the center of the box, Hischalisson beat Niakite and Boly to the ball and rattled the Nottingham goal with a header. Turner came out to meet the ball, but was unable to keep out the header as it was exquisitely placed, and the first half ended with Spurs taking a dramatic 1-0 lead.
Nottingham came out firing on all cylinders at the start of the second half. Four minutes into the second half, Elanga collected the ball and calmly played a transition pass to Boly, who was all alone on the right side of the penalty box. With no Tottenham defense in front of him, Boly went straight for the goal, but instead of finding the back of the net, his shot sailed high over the crossbar. 카지노사이트777
Nottingham earned a free-kick opportunity after a positive move near the Tottenham goal. In the 10th minute of the second half, Gibbs-White drew a foul in the defense on a breakaway on the left side of the penalty box and a free kick was awarded. Gibbs-White's free-kick was sharply struck in front of the Tottenham box, but before it could reach a Nottingham player, Vicario leapt out and pushed the ball away.
Nottingham were on the back foot in the first half, but after the start of the second half, they steadily pressed Tottenham and increased their possession. Nottingham looked to capitalize on their late push with an equalizer. In the 13th minute of the second half, a ball through Topolo and Mangala found Williams, whose sharp cross fell in front of the Spurs goal and was headed home by Elanga. However, the goal was disallowed after VAR confirmed that Elanga was slightly ahead of the ball in the previous situation.
With the goal out of the way, Tottenham pushed forward in search of an equalizer. In the 18th minute of the second half, Kluczewski made a direct run and found himself in the center of the penalty box, but a tackle from Boly blocked the ball before it could find its way to the goal. The chance continued as the ball found its way to Son Heung-min. After a short dribble, Son attempted a right-footed shot that was blocked by the defense. Heung-min had another chance in the 19th minute of the second half when he collected the ball in the center of the penalty box and fired a shot that was saved.