Nuno Espirito Santo says that Nottingham Forest was unrecognizable in a sad first half who had them with too difficult a comeback against Newcastle United.
Callum Hudson-Odoi shot Bos over a six-minute lead with a nice opener from the range, but the side of Nuno was quickly undone by four goals in Newcastle in the space of 11 first half minutes.
Alexander Isak scored twice, with one from the penalty place, together with the Lewis Miley level and a close-range finish by Jacob Murphy during a chaotic turnaround.
Nikola Milenkovic pulled one back shortly after the 90th-minute goal of Ryan Yates set up a grandstand finish, but Forest could not find an unlikely equalizer because they suffer a 4-3 reverse.
“First half, clearly Newcastle better. The second half was better, but unfortunately not enough. Too bad, too early,” Nuno told Sky Sports.
“It's about settling, calming down and trying to be ourselves. I didn't recognize our team in the first half. In the second half we were much better.
“I don't know, this is what I'm going to work on now. This is a game that is good to think about.”
Forest only became the sixth side once the 1-0 went up in a Premier League match, but then with three or more goals during the break.
Although it was a much improved version in the second half, the men of Nuno have now lost their last three league matches, the first time they have passed such a run since December 2023.
“We made mistakes. Newcastle also made mistakes. But they were two completely different halves. We started well, we scored and they just rolled over us,” added the Portuguese boss.
“There was nothing else about us in the first half. Every time Newcastle had the ball, they scored.”
Hey Siri: Let me see a ππππ ππ βπππ£ππ βπππ£ππ βπππ£ππ βπππ£ππ #newnfo pic.twitter.com/elb9yio8en
– Opta Analyst (@Optaanalyst) February 23, 2025
Forest had five shots in the first half worth 0.25 expected goals (XG), compared to 2.92 for Newcastle, but they completely reversed the script after the break.
They had 12 attempts and scored with both shots on goal when they recorded 1.93 xg to the 0.14 of Newcastle, while they prevent their opponents from making an effort.
Forest continued to push on an equalizer until the last second, and Nuno is convinced that they would have scored again if they had more than the three extra minutes in St. James' park.
“I wish 10 minutes were added. We needed that time,” Nuno continued.
“We were at the top; Newcastle was on the ropes. With 10 minutes I think we can get something out of this game.”
Comments