A Callum Hudson-Odoi equaliser earned Nottingham Forest a point away at Bournemouth, with both sides still awaiting a Premier League win in 2024. Here’s what the national newspapers had to say
The Guardian
Nottingham Forest’s recruitment has felt scattergun at the best of times in the past couple of years but Callum Hudson-Odoi’s arrival had a more obvious backstory. He worked with Steve Cooper, Nuno Espírito Santo’s predecessor, when England won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 and so Cooper was influential in luring Hudson-Odoi, once a prodigious talent, to the City Ground.
Cooper may have departed but here Hudson-Odoi displayed some of the rich promise that elevated him into the Chelsea first team as a teenager, his fine strike on the cusp of half-time securing a point at Bournemouth, who ended the game with 10 men after Philip Billing was sent off with six minutes of normal time to play. Billing’s straight red card, for clipping Hudson-Odoi on the achilles on halfway, seemed harsh on first viewing but was undoubtedly crude. Nuno insisted it was unnecessary.
“It’s obvious that it was a red card,” Nuno said. “With all respect to Billing, I hope he understands that there are other ways to stop the game, without compromising the player.”.
The Times
Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest shared the points at the Vitality Stadium in a scrappy and bizarrely heated encounter, characterised by petulance rather than quality.
Justin Kluivert gave Bournemouth the lead early in the first half, but they were pegged back by Callum Hudson-Odoi’s effort just before half-time.
Andoni Iraola’s team were reduced to ten men late in the second half when the substitute Philip Billing received red for taking his studs down Hudson-Odoi’s Achilles as the midfielder sought to break into the Bournemouth half.
That such a scrappy and rugged game would play out was not evident from the opening 15 minutes. Before kick-off the mood was bouncy and jovial. The home support, buoyed by the bold and attacking football of their head coach, were given further encouragement by Bournemouth’s start: they pressed ferociously to win the ball, and pinned Forest into their own area when they held it.
The Independent
Callum Hudson-Odoi struck late in the first half of Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 Premier League draw at 10-man Bournemouth to secure a vital point for his relegation-threatened side.
Justin Kluivert gave the hosts an early lead, but the sides were back on level terms after Hudson-Odoi curled in the equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
His afternoon came to a premature end, however, when substitute Philip Billing clipped the back of his achilles and was dismissed by referee Rebecca Welch, who was booed off the pitch by the home support.
Dominic Solanke needed just a goal to draw level with Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in the Golden Boot chase, but barely touched the ball in the stop-and-start contest.
The hosts quickly established a lead from Lewis Cook’s corner, flicked on by Luis Sinisterra to Kluivert, who tapped the fifth-minute opener past January signing Matz Sels on his Forest debut.
The Mail
Time will tell how crucial this point will be for Nottingham Forest and Nuno Espirito Santo but for now it pushed them up to 16th and crucially, two points clear of Everton in the relegation zone.
Nuno’s time at Forest began in December with an agonising last-minute defeat to Bournemouth and in the reverse fixture here, they were rescued by a moment of brilliance from Callum Hudson-Odoi after Justin Kluivert had given Bournemouth an early lead.
Despite a straight red card for Phillip Billing late on after a reckless challenge on Hudson-Odoi, Forest failed to make their man advantage count.
Both teams remain without a Premier League win in 2024, however a draw ended a run of two successive defeats for Forest and after a horrid January, from an array of injuries to getting charged by the Premier League for breaching financial rules, this was at least a positive start to February.
The Sun
Callum Hudson-Odoi struck late in the first half of Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 Premier League draw at 10-man Bournemouth to secure a vital point for his relegation-threatened side.
Justin Kluivert gave the hosts an early lead, but the sides were back on level terms after Hudson-Odoi curled in the equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
His afternoon came to a premature end, however, when substitute Philip Billing clipped the back of his Achilles and was dismissed by referee Rebecca Welch, who was booed off the pitch by the home support.
Dominic Solanke needed just a goal to draw level with Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in the Golden Boot chase, but barely touched the ball in the stop-and-start contest.
The hosts quickly established a lead from Lewis Cook’s corner, flicked on by Luis Sinisterra to Kluivert, who tapped the fifth-minute opener past January signing Matz Sels on his Forest debut.
Follow The Famous Club on:
Google News | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Instagram | Flipboard | Reddit | WhatsApp
