Tag: Sophisticated

“A job done in a very professional way.”

That was Nuno Espirito Santo’s assessment of Nottingham Forest’s performance in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Tuesday night.

The head coach’s words fit the discourse surrounding his team. They rank in the bottom half of the table in several attacking metrics and the keys to their success are hurting teams in transition, being a threat from set pieces and winning the midfield battle. This contributes to the perception they are “professional”, perhaps even old-fashioned.

But that undersells the beauty of some aspects of Forest’s play and oversimplifies it without exploring its intricacies.

GO DEEPER

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The Athletic explained in 2023 how counter-attacks were on the rise in the Premier League. With more teams employing tactical plans based on controlling possession, causing damage without the ball has become a game-changer. That has led to deliberations on the need for a ‘rest defence’ (a team’s structure behind the ball while attacking), with on-the-fly adjustments across the pitch when teams lose possession.

The counter-attack is not the straightforward tactic it is portrayed to be. It involves planning, with multiple off-the-ball movements that add to the chaos of transitional football, and requires precision from the player in possession.

Forest’s goals have not simply been the product of hoofing the ball forward (though the long-range passing abilities of goalkeeper Matz Sels and centre-back Murillo have been valuable). Instead, they involve smart off-the-ball tactics and intricate passing with incredible accuracy.

Chris Wood’s opener against Liverpool was a notable example. Wood’s initial movement dragged Ibrahima Konate out of position, and the Liverpool defender won the ball, heading it towards Mohamed Salah, who was initially open. Neco Williams and Callum Hudson-Odoi react well to close him down. Salah hesitated to get stuck into the challenge and was then shielded away by Elliot Anderson, which allowed Hudson-Odoi to come away with the ball.

During that sequence, Anthony Elanga got on Alexis Mac Allister’s blindside and cut inside Andrew Robertson, briefly becoming Forest’s furthest player forward.

But once Hudson-Odoi got on the ball, Wood reclaimed that status, running into the space left behind by Konate, while Elanga was in the perfect position to receive on his stronger left foot. Pass, pass, clinical finish, 1-0 Forest.

Forest’s opener against Everton in their final game of 2024 came from similar circumstances.

As Morgan Gibbs-White received the ball in his own half, the movement of Ramon Sosa and Wood dragged James Tarkowski and Ashley Young forward and towards the right, while Elanga’s run kept Jarrad Branthwaite in a slightly deeper position. Once again, Wood filled the space left by the centre-back and a fantastic one-two with Elanga was followed by a deft finish to hand Forest the lead.

Forest received a helping hand from Everton for their second goal, with Sean Dyche’s team surrendering possession high up the pitch.

Wood’s positioning kept him prepared to attack the box if Everton gave the ball away, which they did, to Elanga. Elanga passed it to Wood but surprisingly ran towards his centre-forward, making for a complicated return pass.

Elanga’s run was with reason, though, as it dragged two panicked Everton players towards him and left Gibbs-White open to receive, cut inside a defender and finish.

Elanga’s celebration in the aftermath suggests that Nuno’s players understand how valuable their contributions are even if they do not show up on the scoresheet.

Each of these goals brings a level of incision and intricacy that complements Forest’s directness. Forest average the second-most sequences that involve between zero and two passes in the Premier League at 91.4 per 90 (only behind Bournemouth’s 93.6) and rank 19th in sequences with nine or more passes (7.7 per 90).

At the same time, they average the best pass completion rate inside the penalty box in the league at 59 per cent, prioritising quality over quantity.

The traits Forest get from Wood, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi and Elanga are contributing factors. But some of these goals could easily fall under the ‘straight from the training ground’ category, indicating greater tactical plans underpin it all.

Those are more evident from their non-transition attacks. This sequence from Forest’s 3-0 win over West Ham United in November saw them open up the opposition with neat passing from the back. Ola Aina’s movement drew two defenders, allowing Elanga to find Gibbs-White, whose pass took out four players. Later in the move, Wood’s movement created space for Hudson-Odoi, who dragged his shot wide.

A simpler sequence that brought dividends was from their 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion last September. Here, both Wood and Gibbs-White distracted Brighton’s defence with their movement, enabling a quick one-two that allowed Gibbs-White to release Jota Silva.

As The Athletic noted this week using SkillCorner’s Game Intelligence model, which extracts contextual metrics from broadcast tracking data, Forest rank third from bottom for runs in behind defences (2.5 per 30 minutes of possession). But they have the personnel to do so and against teams that use high defensive lines, such as Brighton, this is a useful ploy — and it created Sosa’s equaliser.

 

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In all five cases, Forest — building out from the back or otherwise — were quick to progress the ball forward.

Their ‘direct speed’ (how quickly the ball is advanced towards goal) of 1.8 metres per second is the highest in the league this season and as the graph below shows, they are in a class of their own.

Forest’s attacks buck the trend of top teams patiently dissecting opposition defences, but the intricacies of their offensive approach and passing could comfortably rival the best sides in the country.

Nuno’s side are positionally flexible even if it places players in situations not suited to their strengths, which allows them to lay traps that drag midfielders and defenders out of their natural shape, and they are clinical when opponents succumb to them.

Forest’s calling card is their physical defending — but their in-possession quality and manipulation of space are the difference makers.

Getting anywhere near the summit of the Premier League and staying there for any team beyond the traditional ‘Big Six’ often demands a blend, and Forest are mixing it nicely.

(Top photo: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)