Chris Wood’s 19th Premier League goal of the season helped Nottingham Forest strengthen their Champions League qualification bid by moving third and completing a league double over 16th-placed Tottenham.
Elliot Anderson’s first-time shot from the edge of the box deflected past Guglielmo Vicario to give Forest a fifth-minute lead before the goalkeeper mistimed coming off his line to allow Wood to head past him from Anthony Elanga’s cross in the 17th minute.
There was a flicker of controversy in between the goals when Wood thought he had struck from Anderson’s cross, only for the effort to be ruled out by semi-automated offside technology as part of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check, with Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou showing familiar annoyance at the time the review took.
Richarlison’s 87th-minute header from Pedro Porro’s cross gave Tottenham hope, but Forest secured a victory that lifts them above Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle and gives them a three-point cushion over the sixth-placed Blues with five league matches remaining.
What a start for Forest! 💢
Elliot Anderson’s deflected effort finds its way in! 💥 pic.twitter.com/B0JXRlycwD
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 21, 2025
Spurs vs Forest: Anderson, Wood goals
Forest are having a sensational season but their prospects of going the distance and finishing in the top five had been questioned after successive defeats at Aston Villa and at home to Everton.
Their start at the Tottenham Hotpur Stadium showed how Nuno Espirito Santo’s side can overwhelm opponents in swaggering style, and Wood now needs three more goals in 2024/25 to match Stan Collymore’s record of 22 in a single Premier League season for Forest – set in 1994/95, when they finished third.
The cross, the finish 👨🍳
Chris Wood is BACK! 😤 pic.twitter.com/alaBrVtDmN
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 21, 2025
Spurs eventually became livelier and were perhaps unfortunate not to net earlier. Goalkeeper Matz Sels turned a long-range Wilson Odobert shot behind shortly after Forest’s second, and Odobert set up Richarlison – making his first start since February 6 – for a header that the forward misplaced.
They finished with an expected goals total of 2.14 to their opponents’ 0.64, having failed to find the precision required to recover from Forest’s blistering start.
Richarlison gets one back for Spurs ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ACLlZTuIoQ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 21, 2025
Tottenham vs Forest: Richarlison goal
With Son Heung-min absent through injury, Mathys Tel also could not find his shooting range with a presentable opportunity for the 19-year-old Bayern Munich loanee to become the first Spurs teenager to net in three consecutive Premier League matches.
Richarlison had an attempt cleared off the line and Tottenham raised their intensity noticeably before the Brazil international scored, but the Europa League semi-finalists, who made five changes, fell to an 11th defeat in 33 league games this season.
The return of one of their key strikers is a welcome one before Tottenham host Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of their final-four tie on May 1 (20:00 BST). In between, they visit a Liverpool side on the brink of becoming champions on Sunday (16:30).
Forest face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday (16:30) and host Brentford in the league on May 1 (19:30).
