It was the start of a new era at Nottingham Forest. The second this season.
After the social experiment that was the appointment of Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche oversaw his first Forest game. A welcome of FC Porto was a tough baptism of fire for the former Everton boss.
In this article, we’ll cover:
The Portuguese side were unbeaten heading into Thursday’s game, winning 10 of 11 matches. Francesco Farioli has proven an inspired appointment at the Dragao. That, though, didn’t deter Dyche.
Midfield dominance
The newly-appointed Forest boss named a positive starting XI for his first game in charge. For a manager renowned for pragmatism, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White started either side of Douglas Luiz in the middle of the park. There were the high wingers either side of Igor Jesus in a positive selection.
Additionally, there was structure in defence. The Forest backline wasn’t forced into a low block to limit the Porto offensive. However, there were clear roles for the three midfielders. Luiz would receive the ball from the defenders. He’d lay on for Anderson – the Brazilian made more passes to the England international (15) than any other player – who’d drive the ball on.
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Gibbs-White would then look to push up and occupy the space Jesus vacated on the frontline.
The three central midfielders understood their assignment and carried out their duties well. Indeed, Pablo Rosario and Victor Forholt struggled with the intensity of Anderson and Gibbs-White in the opening 45. It was a performance akin to the heights of the 2024-25 season under Nuno.
And the dominance continued for the second half. Gibbs-White occupied the space Jesus opened up well on the frontline, while Anderson and Luiz continued to pull the strings. Dyche’s midfield trio is already set.
Jesus dropping deep causes havoc
Igor Jesus got his goal in the second half as he beat Diogo Costa from 12 yards. Crucially for Forest, though, was that Jesus didn’t operate nominally as a number nine. The Brazilian was happy to drop deeper to link up play. With Taiwo Awoniyi dropped from the XI that started against Chelsea, Forest look more coherent in attack this evening.
What was important, though, was that Jesus dropping deep was key for Morgan Gibbs-White. Starting ahead of Elliot Anderson and Douglas Luiz, Gibbs-White pushed incredibly high, so much so that Forest routinely looked to be playing in a 4-4-2 formation.
Jesus has made an impressive start to life with Forest. He’s scored three Europa League goals now after his penalty against Porto. However, it was the willingness to pull markers out of possession, the selflessness to his game, that ensured Forest were able to end Porto’s unbeaten run.
Switching the play
What was evident in the first half was how much Forest looked for the switch from right to left. Nikola Milenkovic, starting on the right and Murillo on the left in the four-man backline, sought to get on the ball and move possession across to the left where possible.
The cross for the penalty did come from the left, so it made sense to maximise this side of the pitch as a route to goal. With Callum Hudson-Odoi starting from the left, and Oleksandr Zinchenko willing to push forward, Milenkovic did all he could to get the pair on the ball.
And even when Zinchenko went off at the break, Forest continued to look to the left as a means of hurting Porto with Hudson-Odoi heavily involved. The raking switches from right to left may prove commonplace under Dyche.