Tottenham Hotspur fell to a disastrous 3-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest in their Premier League relegation six-pointer on Sunday.
Neither side truly took control of what was an admittedly nervous opening half, until Igor Jesus gave Forest the lead right before half-time — losing the Spurs defence to earn a free header from a Neco Williams corner.
Spurs tried to reassert themselves after the break, but once again failed to truly worry Forest, who then doubled their advantage just after the hour mark as Morgan Gibbs-White was given far too much space to finish in the box from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cutback.
Despite introducing the likes of Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani, Igor Tudor couldn’t inspire a comeback from his side. In fact, things got even worse as Taiwo Awoniyi added a third in the final few minutes.
Tottenham sleepwalk to cataclysmic defeat
Despite the dark clouds around this corner of North London, Spurs actually entered this game with a bit of a confidence boost after their late 1-1 draw away at Liverpool and 3-2 win at home to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League over the last week — serving to end a six-game losing streak across all competitions.
Unfortunately for the Lilywhites, there was absolutely no sign of that confidence boost in their play.
The defending on all three Forest goals was absolutely wretched.
The first saw Jesus lose his marker way too easily to deliver a free header into the back of the net from Williams’ deep, in-swinging corner.
The second came about as Spurs passively allowed Forest to work the ball forward, before Hudson-Odoi breezed past Pedro Porro to find Gibbs-White with nobody in white around him.
The third saw Pape Sarr fail to deal with a long Matz Sels ball and then decline to close down Williams, who delivered an inch-perfect cross to Awoniyi, with the Nigerian striker having ghosted Kevin Danso in the box.
Leaving three of your opponent’s most dangerous players free in the box is certainly an interesting way to defend your own box in a six-pointer, but Spurs were rightly punished.
But perhaps more worrying was their lack of threat at the other end.
Tottenham controlled 58% possession on Sunday afternoon and attempted 14 shots. However, that amounted to just 1.17 expected goals and precious few moments where they genuinely looked like scoring — Mathys Tel hitting the bar just after the first goal aside.
It was too easy for Forest to keep their shape and frustrate the Lilywhites, who sleepwalked to what might just go down as one of the most cataclysmic results in their long history.
If Spurs couldn’t lift themselves for this most important of fixtures after such a positive week, they really could be in serious danger.
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Forest stars stand tall to deliver massive victory
While Spurs utterly failed to show up for this most important of clashes, Forest took it by the scruff of the neck.
All of the Tricky Trees’ biggest stars showed up. Whether it was Williams’ relentless crossing into the box, Gibbs-White’s moments of calm and quality at the perfect moment, Hudson-Odoi terrorising Spurs’ right flank, or Elliot Anderson moving the ball quickly and breaking up opposition attacks, Vitor Pereira’s men got the job done with confidence, composure and cutting edge.
It was Williams who surely scooped the Man of the Match honours, assisting the first and third goals, while delivering a total of five crosses, and shutting things down at the other end with one tackle, two clearances, three interceptions and two recoveries.
The one silver lining for Spurs is West Ham’s 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa, meaning the Hammers still occupy 18th. However, that has also allowed Forest to pull three points clear of danger at a key moment in the campaign.
This was Forest’s first league win in eight games, but the way they picked Spurs off, you’d think they were once again battling for European places as they were last season.