Spurs move up to fourth after Porro’s strike seals win over Nottingham Forest

As much as Ange Postecoglou insists that neither is Champions League qualification imperative nor is it the limit of his ambition, he will be hard pressed to find a Tottenham supporter not significantly heartened by their elevated league position after this victory over Nottingham Forest.

With a game in hand over Aston Villa, Postecoglou’s side are now back into fourth – a place they have not occupied since mid-February – and in pole position to feature in Europe’s premier competition next season, notwithstanding some tricky upcoming fixtures.

It was not perfect; it rarely is where Spurs are concerned. But unlike in the frustrating draw at West Ham in midweek, they found a way to register what was, in the end, a fairly comprehensive scoreline.

Of course, things might have been so different had Chris Wood not crashed the Spurs upright with a sledgehammer two yards from goal at the end of the first half when a gentle stroke of the paint brush would have sufficed. At that stage Forest had already capitalised on a lackluster spell from the hosts, with a Wood goal cancelling out a Murillo own goal during a fast Tottenham start.

But with the visitors ruing the missed chance to go ahead, Tottenham settled matters soon after half-time through a couple of thunderbolts from the unlikely figures of Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro.

After Luton’s victory over Bournemouth a day earlier, it meant Nuno Espírito Santo’s side remain teetering above the relegation zone on goal difference alone.

The last time Nuno was inside this gleaming north London stadium was late October 2021, when his toothless Spurs side were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Manchester United – their seventh defeat of his 17-match tenure – resulting in his dismissal.

His 124-day stint at the helm set an unwanted record as the shortest of any permanent Tottenham manager; whether that reign proves to be a small blot on his managerial career or a harsh exposure of his limitations might well be impacted by whether he can maintain Forest’s Premier League status.

Having registered only a second league win this calendar year earlier in the week against Fulham – a continuation of a mini resurgence since Forest were deducted four points for breaching Premier League finance regulations – the visitors came close to quickly resuming that upturn with Murillo almost scoring what would surely have been a goal of the season contender.

With all the early action taking place inside the Forest half, the Brazilian decided no further territorial gain was required to turn defence into attack and tried his luck from somewhere approaching 70 yards, beating Guglielmo Vicario but sending the ball wide. Barely four minutes later, Murillo did find the back of the net, but at the wrong end.

Recent games have exhibited the Postecoglou blueprint in its ideal form: an unceasingly high workrate combined with two rapid, headstrong wingers in the form of Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson, whose burgeoning partnership on either flank has been pivotal to much of Spurs’ attacking threat. So, too, for Tottenham’s opener, when the ball was swiftly worked wide to Werner, whose low cross across the six-yard box was turned in by Murillo’s outstretched boot.

Matz Sels then did brilliantly to prevent the hosts from doubling their lead in similar fashion 10 minutes later, when he denied Johnson from point-blank range, and Forest soon made their hosts pay for their profligacy in front of goal.

A lovely one-two between Anthony Elanga and Neco Williams culminated in the Swede squaring across goal where form man Wood turned it into the far corner. It was the Kiwi’s fourth goal in as many games since returning from a hamstring injury.

How he did not add to that tally when blasting against the post minutes later flummoxed all inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Vicario had saved superbly from Ryan Yates’ shot.

An action-packed first-half also saw a Son Heung-min cross diverted onto the Forest crossbar and James Maddison survive a rather suspicious-looking fist to Yates’ stomach without punishment.

If the home fans were concerned that their team might be about to drop more points in the Champions League race that Postecoglou refuses to acknowledge, their fears were swiftly assuaged.

First, Van De Ven thumped in from the edge of the penalty area after some patient buildup from a Spurs corner. Then, Maddison’s cross was flicked on by Rodrigo Bentancur for Porro to drill home. The victory margin would have been even greater had Sels not pulled off a blinding save to turn Son’s late shot onto the post.

Forest’s ability to break meant it was never entirely comfortable for the hosts, even in the closing stages, but after a patchy few weeks, the win was the boost they so wanted.