A five-star display at the Stadium of Light was testament to Vitor Pereira’s impact and saw Nottingham Forest find their true selves, edging ever closer to Premier League survival with a 5-0 win over Sunderland. George Edwards was at the match
It was the perfect way to round off a perfect evening where Nottingham Forest found everything they have been missing for much of this season.
Five minutes into second-half stoppage time, the game wrapped up a long time before thanks to a first-half looting at the Stadium of Light, Elliot Anderson snatched Forest’s fifth as they leapt towards Premier League safety with a 5-0 win at Sunderland.
A beaming smile engulfed his face, his arms flung aloft in the direction of the travelling supporters, and his teammates surrounded him with joy. He then lifted his right arm into the sky and pointed upwards, in the week following the passing of his mother, Helen; a touching goal — for her — just nine miles away from the place he grew up in.
The courage for Anderson still to play, and perform, in these circumstances sums up the professional he is and why he is being touted for bigger and better things. At present, football seems to be his escape.
But despite Anderson’s eye-catching displays, it has been a season Forest themselves would largely like to have escaped from.
Well, now they have.
It was a first half where the Reds found themselves.
They found the fearlessness, chemistry and clinical nature that had evaporated from last season to this. They found the magical factor that has been missing for nearly a year, with persistence, ruthlessness and quality.
If they didn’t win the first ball, they’d win the second, or the third, and once they edged in front thanks to a Trai Hume own goal after 20 minutes, there was no stopping them.
Until that moment they hadn’t dominated; if anything, they were clinging on. It was a vastly open contest, both sides attacking with pace and directness, seemingly with a second thought for defence.
But Forest clicked right into gear after the opener, pouncing on their host’s indecisiveness and scoring three goals in six bemusing minutes to put themselves 4-0 up after 37 were played.
This time last season, Forest began to run out of steam, spurning their secure position inside the top five to finish seventh, winning only two of their last nine games. In contrast to this term, now is the time Forest have come together and given themselves a distinct platform to save and savour their season.
They are now unbeaten in eight games, winning five of them, including three out of four away from home, and are now just one point away from the coveted 40-point mark. Nine goals in their last two has also seen their goal difference boost to -4, the best in the bottom six, and they are eight points clear of Tottenham in 18th, for now at least.
At any other point in the season, that first half display would have been completely unfathomable.
Whilst it was still largely a shock, elements of that confidence have been slowly seeping through, and the oomph with which the away end chanted ‘Vitor’s red and white army’ throughout the contest shows who they think this drastic turnaround is down to.
Before the game, it was revealed Callum Hudson-Odoi would miss the rest of the season and Murillo would miss this fixture, at least. Two vital cogs down, it was perhaps easy for Vitor Pereira to stick with the second-half side that ripped four past Burnley, with Morgan Gibbs-White moved out to the left and Igor Jesus operating behind Chris Wood.
But that successful setup was one fostered by the Portuguese, and one that delivered for him yet again. Those three all got on the scoresheet, Gibbs-White and Jesus flourishing in the freedom given to them in their new roles and Wood proving that even at 34, he can sniff a goal from anywhere, given the service and opportunity.
Even at 4-0 up with three minutes to play, Pereira was animated on the touchline, pen and notepad in hand, determined to maintain his team’s performance levels and see the job through.
He’s made Forest look a threat from everywhere. They scored three goals from set pieces, one from winning possession from a high press and the last from their intricate football and collective understanding. All while being rigid at the back, with Sunderland failing to have a shot on target between the 8th and 57th minutes — a period Forest scored four times.
When Pereira arrived, Forest looked one-dimensional. Now they look unstoppable.
His intent to bring Forest together has been evident since his entrance, and it took a while for that unity to truly appear, with a momentous penalty shootout win against FC Midtjylland in his eighth game in charge.
But from that moment is when he’s made the difference. That unity has blossomed into results, momentum and belief and has truly realigned the focus and potential fortunes of the season.
Survival was once an anxious hope; now it feels very close to becoming a reality. The Europa League had been pushed to the back burner; now it feels Forest can prioritise it with their full force, as the first leg of their semi-final against Aston Villa is just days away.
A 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland reinforced that Nottingham Forest have found themselves again — and, under Vitor Pereira’s guidance, they are well on their way to rewriting what this season will be remembered for.
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