Nuno Espirito Santo led Nottingham Forest to a fantastic victory over Liverpool on Saturday.
It was the Reds’ first victory at the legendary stadium since 1969, and Espirito Santo accomplished something that Brian Clough couldn’t.
Winning at Anfield is something that few clubs have been able to do in recent years, but without Jurgen Klopp, Forest may have taken advantage of some early transitional troubles under Arne Slot.
Callum Hudson-Odoi scored his first goal of the season against Liverpool, stunning the home crowd and helping Forest to a crucial three points.
With Espirito Santo’s game plan nailed on, he proved many of his fiercest detractors wrong during the famous Anfield match.
Nuno Espirito Santo proved Chris Sutton incorrect during the clash with Liverpool.
How pundits may alter their opinions. Forest threw Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga into the battle in just six minutes, and it paid off.
The two wingers were introduced after Espirito Santo unexpectedly sent both players to the bench, but they still had a significant impact on the encounter over the weekend.
When they were introduced, Chris Sutton came to BBC Sport to express his concern about the substitutions, believing they would aid Liverpool rather than Forest.
He commented on BBC Sport’s broadcast: “I think this is a gamble from Nuno Espirito Santo, he has more attacking players on – there will be more space for Liverpool to capitalise.”
Elanga and Hudson-Odoi worked together to build up the winning goal during the game, and after the latter put the Reds ahead, Sutton was in no mood to back down.
He commented just 11 minutes later on BBC Sport: “Nuno Espirito Santo gambled with his substitutions.
“Anthony Elanga delivers a beautiful crossfield ball to Callum Hudson-Odoi; Conor Bradley allows him to come inside, but the finish is excellent.
“Hudson-Odoi bends the ball into the far corner while Allison is nowhere near it.
“This is smash and grab from Forest.”
Espirito Santo is quietly going about his business at Forest.
When he replaced the extremely liked Steve Cooper in December, the head coach was not a popular option among many Forest fans.
To be fair, he was dealt a very dreary hand last year, but he did well to keep the Reds in the Premier League with a run of decent results near the conclusion of the season.
In fairness, the club was fortunate that the three relegated teams were so terrible, and some of the pundits’ forecasts before a ball was kicked were probably close to correct.
Espirito Santo, on the other hand, seems unconcerned about the noise. He’s not one for lengthy press conferences; he simply wants the players he puts together to grow every week and do their best for the football club.
The head coach was undoubtedly pleased that his game plan performed flawlessly against Liverpool.
Now, he deserves unanimous appreciation, and any debate about him not being the right guy for the job should be disregarded as foolishness, with everyone linked with Forest showing their support.
