Spurs move up to fourth place after Porro's goal seals victory over Nottingham Forest | first division

As much as Ange Postecoglou vehemently insists that Champions League qualification is neither imperative nor the limit of his ambition, you will be hard-pressed to find a Tottenham fan who isn't significantly encouraged by their lofty league position after this. victory over Nottingham Forest.

With one game less against Aston Villa, Postecoglou's team has returned to fourth place (a place it has not occupied since mid-February) and is in pole position to participate in the main European competition next season, despite of some difficult upcoming matches. He just doesn't expect the coach to show any enthusiasm for that fact: “I couldn't care less about the race for fourth place, buddy.”

It wasn't perfect; That's rarely the case when it comes to the Spurs. But unlike frustrating draw at West Ham Midweek, they found a way to record what, in the end, was a pretty complete score.

It could have been completely different if Forest had benefited from a couple of big incidents in the first half. With the scores level after Chris Wood canceled out a Murillo own goal, the New Zealander wasted a glorious opportunity for his second when he smashed a sledgehammer into the Spurs post two meters from goal when a gentle brush stroke would have been enough.

Ten minutes later, Forest captain Ryan Yates went down clutching his stomach after an off-the-ball incident with James Maddison. Replays showed a rather suspicious-looking fist connecting with Yates' abdomen, but the Spurs midfielder escaped punishment.

“He punched him,” Nuno Espírito Santo said. “I was surprised that VAR didn't tell Simon (Hooper, the referee) to take a better look at it because, honestly, with all due respect, Maddison loses his composure and it's a punch in the gut for Yates. He should have checked himself and made a different decision. It's clear to me. “It's a red card.”

At the time, Spurs were reeling after their bright start. But a change of both central midfielders at half-time led to a complete improvement from Postecoglou's team in a second period in which the hosts rarely tested themselves. Tottenham settled things shortly after the break thanks to a couple of rays from the unlikely figures of Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro.

“Today we had a little bit of everything to ourselves,” Postecoglou said. “We started the game well, not just the goal, and we controlled it well. We lost our way a bit towards the end of the first half, but it was a great reaction and throughout the second half we were really dominant. We played good football, we scored a couple of goals and created as many against a team that is desperate for points and fighting for everything. I thought we handled it very well.”

Based solely on the first 45 minutes, there was a good chance that Nuno's first return to the pitch Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since setting an unwanted record as the club's lowest permanent manager could prove fruitful.

Having recorded just a second league win this calendar year earlier in the week against Fulham – a continuation of a mini resurgence since Forest were docked four points for breaching Premier League financial regulations – the visitors almost took a spectacular lead thanks to Murillo. The Brazilian launched Guglielmo Vicario with his audacious effort from somewhere around 70 yards, but the ball bounced wide.

Four minutes later he found the net, only on the wrong side. Continuing his excellent form, Timo Werner unleashed a tricky low cross across the six-yard box, which was deflected by the Brazilian's outstretched boot.

Matz Sels brilliantly slotted home a close-range shot for Brennan Johnson 10 minutes later and Forest soon found the equaliser. A beautiful one-two between Anthony Elanga and Neco Williams culminated with the Swede crossing goal and Wood turning it into the far corner.

It was the Kiwi's fourth goal in as many games since returning from a hamstring injury, but how he didn't add to that tally when he crashed into a post minutes later baffled everyone inside the stadium after Vicario had saved superbly shot by Yates.

If the home fans went into half-time worried that their team could be about to drop more points in the Champions League race that Postecoglou refuses to acknowledge, their fears were quickly allayed.

First, Van de Ven struck from the edge of the penalty area after patient preparation for a Spurs corner. A cross from Maddison was then headed in by substitute Rodrigo Bentancur for Porro to finish. The margin of victory would have been even greater had Sels not made a great save to deflect Son Heung-min's late shot onto the post.

“The first half was very good,” said Nuno, whose Forest team teeters above the relegation zone on goal difference alone. “We controlled Tottenham, we had good moments, we scored and we had opportunities. Our biggest challenge is to reproduce these 45 minutes throughout the game.”