There were a total of 40 goal attempts in the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, on Monday night, but Nuno Espirito Santo will take the outcome – a solitary strike to seal maximum points and at home.
Forest were hoping to stop the rut of their three-game winless streak, after the international break, with players including Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi, who had a dramatic experience with Nigeria.
It took more than an hour of football, but eventually, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men broke the deadlock from a Chris Wood 65th minute strike.
Wood would later be substituted off for Awoniyi, who closed the last six minutes for Forest, and on his fifth league appearance this season.
Taiwo Awoniyi. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Nigerian is yet to register a goal contribution this campaign, but even for Forest, a meagre eight goals return is how much they’ve done in the PL.
On the night, despite the 20 attempts, only six were on goal, one less than the visitors’ who would feel let down following several near misses and on the other hand, some great goalkeeping from Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels.
The win moved Forest to 8th on the standings and only four points behind third place Arsenal.
However, while Espirito Santo and his players might be dreamy about the potentials of their current reality, they must navigate the tricky test of a trip to King Power Stadium, where they’ll face a familiar face in Steve Cooper at Leicester City, this Friday.
