Harry Kane’s brace amid a mountain of big moments was enough for Tottenham Hotspur to beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at a lively City Ground on Sunday.
Kane took Dejan Kulusevski’s incisive pass and bounded a ball past Dean Henderson in the fifth minute, but later missed a penalty as Forest pushed the visitors all the way to his late stooping header.
WATCH NOTTINGHAM FOREST v TOTTENHAM FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM
Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris only had to make one save but also watched as Neco Williams and Emmanuel Dennis were among the Forest players to miss the frame over 90 minutes.
Forest’s four points through four games put the newly-promoted side in a three-way tie for 12th on the Premier League table, while Spurs are one of three teams two points back of leaders Arsenal. Man City and Brighton also have 10 points.
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What we learned from Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham
Kane makes most of sloppy day: Harry Kane score five minutes into the game and with eight minutes to go, but the in-between was just a step off, wasn’t it? Kane put himself in two terrific positions to score but took an extra step or refused the foot available to him (maybe both) in failing to trouble the keeper). Even Kane’s first goal was a bit of a mishit in terms of pace but Dean Henderson had trouble tracking the ball through traffic. Still, it’s saying something that the star striker once chided for his early season performances found his finish on a day where he (and Heung-min Son) were nowhere near their best.
Richarlison as super sub, but… how long before the exciting and tempestuous Brazilian gets a start over Heung-min Son? Coming into the season it seemed like Dejan Kulusevski was the most likely candidate to lose the occasional start to Richarlison but Son has struggled and Richarlison changed the Chelsea game and delivered an assist on Kane’s tap-in insurance goal on Sunday. This is a luxury of riches at Tottenham, which is playing Ivan Perisic at wing back and barely using Lucas Moura. Not bad, Mr. Conte.
Yes, Forest can: Forest has captured some serious signings this summer, the latest of whom was watching in the stands on Sunday. Renan Lodl is a sensational pickup and you have to say that Emmanuel Dennis, Taiwo Awoniyi, Jesse Lingard, Morgan Gibbs-White, and others provide a lot of hope for Steve Cooper and Co. It’s going to take time before it comes together and defense still looks like a weakness outside of Joe Worrall, but Forest is playing fun football with effort to spare. The ingredients for safety are there.
Tactical focus
Forest is bright going forward and resolved at the back, but it’s all a bit frantic at times. Whether this is a matter of 1000000 players still getting to know each other or a bug in Steve Cooper’s system will determine how close Forest will be situated to the bottom three this season. Forest went to a back four late and it didn’t take long for Richarlison and Kane to find the back of the goal, and Spurs’ back three/five was functioning well. Forest did fine chances but it had to manufacture that danger rather than find truly promising openings.
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Stars of the show
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: So much class. Could’ve had an assist on a play that caught Kane a bit too slow.
Harry Kane: Two goals is two goals. The once-August shy striker has four this season after doing well the past few.
Dean Henderson: Has now stopped Declan Rice and Harry Kane penalties. Very England in a World Cup year, yes?
Joe Worrall: One of those sneaky-good defenders who don’t get much praise outside their region, Worrall had three tackles, two blocks, and two interceptions while passing at 94%. Gareth calling?
Morgan Gibbs-White: The price tag is going to carry a lot of weight, but you can see exactly why the Wolves kept his price tag so high. Some exquisite vision and precision.
Richarlison: Just a powerful fireball — an asteroid — whenever he hits the pitch. Luxury.
What’s next
Forest gets its first taste of Manchester City at 2:30pm ET Wednesday, while Spurs are off to West Ham for a London derby at 2:45pm ET Wednesday.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 11:30am ET, Sunday
TV Channel: USA Network
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com
Nottingham Forest team news, injuries, lineup options
Moussa Niakhate and Omar Richards remain out injured, while Jack Colback returns to the bench after his recent illness. Forest has so many options in midfield and attack that it’s becoming tough to predict who will start.
✌️ Two changes from last weekend
🤩 City Ground debut for @Morgangibbs27
✊ @RyanYates97 comes in to startSteve Cooper names his side to face @SpursOfficial this afternoon 👊 pic.twitter.com/zYXd7mWeBa
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) August 28, 2022
Tottenham team news, injuries, lineup options
Cristiano Romero is still out, so too is Oliver Skipp, but Antonio Conte has confirmed that they will both return to training next week.
Here's how we line-up for this afternoon's game against @NFFC! 👇 pic.twitter.com/9S0K6fvOYW
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 28, 2022
