Nuno Espirito Santo praised his Nottingham Forest side for “finding the details” to beat Southampton 1-0 at St Mary’s and record their first victory of the season.
A game of few chances was settled in the 70th minute by Morgan Gibbs-White producing a rare moment of precision to capitalise on a botched attempt at clearing a corner by Saints, thumping the ball in at the second attempt after his initial header was scrambled off the line.
Forest looked likelier to add a second goal than Southampton did to hit back, only goalkeeper Alex McCarthy standing between the visitors and a more commanding victory. The goalkeeper stood up well to save from Neco Williams before showing brilliant reach to beat away Callum Hudson-Odoi’s curling drive.
“I think we played a good game,” said Santo. “We dominated, controlled the tempo of the game, created situations. It’s always tough to play away from home.
“This is the first step towards improvement, but overall a very good performance. Second half there was a spell when we weren’t able to press for 10 or 15 minutes. That was really tough.
“We always try to find details that we can see and correct, knowing that after the first half we still had 45 minutes to go.
“We are asking a lot from the players, demanding a lot from them. It’s been slowly positive towards that direction.”
Forest had dominated the first half without finding a way through. Defender Nikola Milenkovic ought to have marked his debut with a goal, arriving in the six-yard box to meet Chris Wood’s driven cross but somehow contriving to knock the ball wide of an open goal.
Ibrahim Sangare brought a fingertip save from McCarthy with a 30-yard bullet, and the visitors were almost the recipients of supreme good fortune when Saints defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis played an errant back pass that deceived his goalkeeper and rolled just wide.
As well as Milenkovic, Santo handed a debut to Elliot Anderson, the midfielder signed from Newcastle during the summer.
“I think they (the debutants) did a good game,” said Santo. “The quality they have, the players that we’ve brought in, we believe in them. I think it was a positive game from them.
“What we want is knowing that when we have all the squad, we have solutions.”
Saints boss Russell Martin, who saw his team register a single shot on target in their first top-flight match at home in 15 months, reflected on a game that turned against his side due to their own defensive laxity.
“We conceded from a rubbish set-piece,” he said. “We shouldn’t give the ball away for the corner in the first place. We had a moment to secure the ball in a moment when we were so on top.
“We had started to cause them real problems. Then we gave them a corner, had a chance to clear it and we don’t. I don’t know what goes on after that but it’s not good enough. I’m annoyed at that.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Mbappe VS Liverpool Path confirmed… Kylian Mbappe after Virgil van Dijk took him down. 0.6% chance. 99.4% faith. lol I can't unsee this … League titles won "since 2009" Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, FootballLaughss, PL__OOC)...
The Egyptian is locked in contract negotiations with the club, who do not want to commit to a multi-year, high wage deal.Salah is in the form of his life, but is 32, which is giving the Reds pause for giving him a two or three-year extension.Per Sky Sports, clubs in the Saudi Pro League are not actively pursuing Salah at present.While he is a target and one they would love to sign, they are not go...
The Blues have made an effort to sign the best and youngest talent from around the world since the takeover by Clearlake.Chelsea are in talks to sign the son of Emmanuel EboueChelsea will have to pay compensation for Mathis EboueThe club are now in talks to sign Mathis Eboue from the Watford academy.The 15-year-old is, of course, the son of Arsenal cult hero Emmanuel Eboue.The Daily Mail have clai...
Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez signed a one-year contract extension, meaning he will continue to play in Major League Soccer next season.Suarez, who joined the Herons on a one-year contract in December, tied for second place in the MLS Golden Boot race and earned a nomination to the 2024 MLS newcomer of the year award."I'm very happy, very excited to continue for another year and to be able to en...
United target Napoli's KvaratskheliaManchester United are reportedly showing strong interest in Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, according to SportMediaset. The 23-year-old Georgian star, under contract with Napoli until 2027, has yet to reach an agreement on an extension with the Serie A leaders. The Red Devils are prepared to table a lucrative five-year deal worth at least €8 million ...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Big GabrielSporting 1-5 Arsenal Who will win this month's Manager of the Month award? What happens when you come up against Saliba and Gabriel... Wayne Rooney, a true legend on and off the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white and gold jersey brings back so many unforgettable memories! Throwback to THIS Beautiful Moment when Lionel Messi scored his 50th ca...
Bellingham admits 'vibrations' were key to Liverpool snubJude Bellingham has revealed how close he came to joining Liverpool, and the "vibrations" he felt when Real Madrid came calling."It wasn't as close as it was said," Bellingham said ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Liverpool. "There were conversations. There was Dortmund and I did it with several clubs. When Real Madrid call you, t...
Manchester City's Champions League match on Tuesday night was marred by crowd trouble, with Feyenoord fans causing chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The Dutch supporters, escorted by police from the city centre to the stadium, filled all three tiers of the South Stand.After City scored three goals, Feyenoord managed to net one with about 15 minutes left, leading to riot police stepping in to prevent cl...
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Mohamed Salah isn't unsettled over his contract situation.After scoring twice in victory at Southampton on Sunday, Salah revealed he had not heard from management about a new deal. His current contract expires in June."The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out," said Slot."I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen that...
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he doesn't fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-Jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches."I don't look at the table...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Chelsea make Nkunku sale call amid ManUtd interest
- 3 Ex-Prem ace asked Liverpool star for his sister's phone number
- 4 €60-70m could bring star to Liverpool or Man Utd
- 5 Mascherano nears Miami; Martino exits
- 6 Chloe Kelly sends fans wild in daring outfit at GQ Men of the Year
- 7 Former Premier League star saved his wife and baby from house fire
- 8 Thierry Henry poses with rarely-seen partner Andrea on red carpet
- 9 Ruben Amorim ‘could move to Ten Hag or Pogba’s old homes’
- 10 Transfer news & rumours LIVE