Nottingham Forest had a rare off day in the Premier League on Saturday, when they were torn apart by Bournemouth.
Alan Shearer has reasoned that, despite Nottingham Forest’s defense pair Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo had received a lot of plaudits this season, they couldn’t keep up with Bournemouth’s livewire forwards when the Reds were soundly defeated on Saturday.
In a season full of high points under Nuno Espirito Santo, and with Forest firmly entrenched in the Champions League places for the time being, the heavy defeat at the Vitality Stadium this weekend will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the lows – and Forest must chalk it up to a bad day at the office moving forward.
The Cherries struck through Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo, while in between Dango Outtara helped himself to a hat-trick as Andoni Iraola’s men swept aside another Premier League rival – they’ve scored 16 goals in their last four matches in all competitions and, clearly, Forest were on the receiving end.
Milenkovic and Murillo have formed a formidable partnership at the heart of the Forest defence this season, boasting clean sheets, but Bournemouth’s forward line – without injured centre forwards Evanilson and Enes Unal – proved too powerful.
“The pace about their passing and their play…it was just too much for Nottingham Forest to handle,” she remarked. “Two players we’ve lauded all season, Milenkovic and Murillo, rightfully so, but they were turned inside out. We’ve talked a lot about the goalkeeper and his fantastic season, but not today.
It was an afternoon when things did not go Forest’s way; Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle, and Manchester City all won, bringing the pack at the top of the Premier League standings closer together. For pundit Danny Murphy, finishing in the top four for Forest over 38 games is not something he believes they are capable of, but he would love to see them, or Bournemouth, achieve it.
“I hope one of them does, because I think it’ll be brilliant for the Premier League,” Murphy said. “My gut feeling is Chelsea, Man City, Newcastle and Villa will have that greater strength in depth and that little more know how and experience. I still think it’s unlikely but what a story it’d be.”
