Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Nottingham Forest (15 Dec, 2023) Game Analysis

Tottenham Hotspur beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 away thanks to goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski for a second successive victory that moved them closer to the Premier League top four on Friday, although they had midfielder Yves sent off Bissouma late.

Ange Postecoglou's Spurs side started the season in scintillating form before being hampered by injuries, but got back on track with a 4-1 home win over Newcastle United and followed up with a victory in a tricky match at the City Ground.

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Driven by inspirational captain Son Heung-Min, the visitors looked more skilful from the start and were duly rewarded when Richarlison guided a header in first-half stoppage time from a brilliant cross from Kulusevski.

It was the Brazilian's third goal in two matches, a welcome burst after struggling to score for Spurs.

Swede Kulusevski sealed the victory himself in the 65th minute when he collected a loose pass from Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner, rounded Moussa Niakhaté and sent the ball through the USA international's palms and into the net .

After Kulusevski's goal, Turner slapped the turf with both hands, lowered his head and covered his face.

Forest received a boost when Bissouma was shown a red card after a VAR review for a dangerous foul five minutes later, but were unable to reduce the deficit, extending a winless run to six games.

“It’s a tough game here, you have to earn everything you get,” Postecoglou said. “They [Forest] are obviously quite desperate for points. For the most part we stayed pretty calm and collected…I'm really happy.”

The result left Tottenham on the verge of the top four Champions League qualifying places. They remain fifth but are now level on 33 points with Manchester City and four points behind leaders Liverpool, despite having played a game more than their rivals.

Steve Clarke's Forest are 16th with 14 points, five points above the drop zone in their second season since promotion.

At 1-0, the hosts thought they might have equalized when Anthony Elanga scored from close range, but his effort was ruled offside by the video assistant referee (VAR).

After the sending-off, Spurs came under more pressure, with Guglielmo Vicario making a brilliant save on the line with his leg from a Harry Toffolo header, then seeing the ball bounce both off the post and into him from a shot from Neco Williams.

“We're in a bit of a dip in form at the moment,” Williams said. That's football. We have to stay united and the results will come eventually.

“You saw the crowd today, they love the manager and we love him too. We believe in him and the fans believe in him, it's just a matter of time to reap the results.”

Kulusevski was buzzing after his goal and assist, saying life was good for Spurs under Postecoglou.

“If I could choose my football, it would be my football, my attack, my training is very fun, always aim high… play to win,” he said.

Spurs winger Brennan Johnson, a Forest academy graduate, was substituted in the 32nd minute after suffering a blow to the head.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.