Nottingham Forest continued their challenge for a Premier League top-four spot as Anthony Elanga’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur to put them third on Thursday.
Elanga completed a superb Forest counter-attack in the 28th minute to settle a contest that Tottenham ended with 10 men after former Forest player Djed Spence was sent off.
The result moved Forest provisionally up to third with 34 points, while Tottenham’s fourth defeat in five Premier League games left them in 11th with 23 points after 18 games.
Tottenham had edged the opening exchanges with former Forest winger Brennan Johnson going close for the visitors but the hosts struck in devastating fashion.
When Tottenham lost possession on the edge of the Forest area, the ball was played to Morgan Gibbs-White who split the visiting defence with a superb pass and Elanga beat goalkeeper Fraser Forster with a deft finish.
Ritchie Sumpter/Nottingham Forest FC via Getty Images
It was enough for Forest to win a third successive top-flight game for the first time since 1995 and was especially sweet for manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked by Tottenham three years ago.
Forest have more points than they managed in the whole of last season when they flirted with relegation.
Tottenham are 11 points behind Forest and pressure is sure to mount on manager Ange Postecoglou.
His side had chances before the break with Matz Sels twice denying Johnson and Son Heung-min hitting the side-netting with a free kick shortly before the interval.
Tottenham were toothless after the break though and their frustration was summed up when Spence was shown a second yellow card deep in stoppage time.
