Nottingham Forest enjoyed a 3-2 win against Southampton with a score line that doesn’t reflect the overall balance of the game.
Southampton were dead and buried by half time at the City Ground as Forest went in with a 3-0 lead.
Elliot Anderson opened the scoring with his first goal for Forest before Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood put the game out of sight.
Hudson-Odoi was subbed due to injury towards the end of the first 45 and Southampton grabbed a goal back from a corner on the hour mark.
Nikola Milenkovic thought he had made it 4-1 but his goal was controversially ruled out by VAR in a decision that angered supporters.
The visitors then grabbed another to make it 3-2 in the 90th minute to make it a slightly nervier end to the game, which included 12 minutes of stoppage time and a goal-line clearance from Ola Aina.
Milenkovic’s offside goal was one that brought plenty of confusion but there has been clarity on the decision.
Premier League reveal why Nikola Milenkovic’s goal was disallowed
There was lots of confusion from those inside the City Ground as to why Milenkovic’s goal was disallowed.
On first glance, it appeared that there was no legitimate reason to disallow the towering Serb’s effort, but, a statement from the Premier League cleared up the confusion, stating that Forest forward Wood had interfered in the build-up.
In a post on X, they said: “The referee’s call of goal was checked by VAR, who deemed that Wood interfered with play after coming from an offside position. After an on-field review, the referee overturned the original decision and the goal was disallowed.”
Sky Sports pundit claims Nikola Milenkovic is a Champions League defender
It’s not gone unnoticed from those affiliated with Forest, but a large part of their success comes down to the defensive duo of Milenkovic and Murillo.
The duo look like they have played together for years and their understanding of how they operate is a cut above most partnerships.
They are a huge part of the reason why Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have the third best defence in the top flight, conceding just 23 goals.
Dean Ashton was covering the game for Sky Sports and singled out the defensive pair, stating that they are Champions League level players.
He said: “As long as Forest don’t get injuries, the two centre-backs have been brilliant, they can get in the Champions League.”
There’s still a long way to go but as the number of games get fewer and the points continue to pile up, the dream of the Champions League music blaring out on the River Trent once again becomes more of a reality.
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