Nottingham Forest climbs to third place after Anthony Elanga's goal defeats Tottenham | first division

The fog rolled in from the Trent to the point where it was sometimes difficult to tell which Spurs player was running down which dead end in the second half. But what is very clear is the momentum of Nottingham Forest which, after Anthony Elanga's third goal in consecutive games, has taken them to third place in the Premier League.

Nuno Espírito Santo, former Forest Spurs manager, has organized his team so well that they now have 34 points from 18 games, the same tally they had at this stage in 1987-88, when Brian Clough was manager, back in the days in which the European Cup was recently lifted.

No manager in first division In history (with at least 50 games under his belt) his games average more than 3.6 goals during Ange Postecoglu's reign. But not against Nuno. Forest's fourth successive Premier League win came with a clean sheet, and only Liverpool and Arsenal have conceded fewer than their 19 goals in the top flight this season.

The focus will be on Tottenham's continued failures and, following Sunday's 6-3 demolition of Liverpool, they have now won just twice in nine games. This was their first Boxing Day defeat in 17 games but, with Djed Spence sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card against his former club, questions will once again fall on Postecoglu. That's another defender missing for their next game, against Wolves on Sunday, and the Spurs boss needs to find answers soon.

The proliferation of backstories made this a fascinating matchup before the ball was even kicked and it soon became equally intriguing on the field. The match was set for a clash of styles, and this infinitely favored Forest.

Even as Spurs ran and probed, dominating possession, Nuno's current side looked primed to inflict damage on the counter-attack. Brennan Johnson, forming an all-Forest right flank with Spence, received a warm welcome back to the City Ground when he was roughly brought down by Elliot Anderson; Forest was clearly prepared for the fight.

When Elanga scored, it was not against the run of play, even if Spurs, with their territorial advantage, could have claimed control of the game. When he has a team that plays the way he wants, Nuno knows how to control games without the ball.

On a break, Callum Hudson-Odoi returned down the left and shot slightly over with his right foot. Who would have thought he had that in his locker? A lightning-fast counter-attack then culminated in Elanga firing a shot just over.

The goal, when it came, epitomized the precision under pressure that Forest possesses, even at their pace. Some good pressing midway in his own half allowed Morgan Gibbs-White to pick up the ball and move forward in a situation he often thrives on. He must dream about this, like a Labrador puppy chasing a tennis ball in his sleep. The Englishman covered a third of the field before sending a perfect pass, just behind Destiny Udogie, so that Elanga did not have to lose his step when he opened his body and cut the ball, left-footed, just above Fraser Forster. and to the farthest corner.

Johnson came close to equalizing before the break when, showing an excellent first touch to receive a kick from the byline, his shot from close range required an excellent save from Matz Sels. Spence launched a cross-shot that crossed the goal; Son Heung-min's free kick rattled the side netting, but from the wrong side for Spurs.

With Udogie back at left back and Rodrigo Bentacur protecting the back four, Spurs' absences might have been felt less against lesser opponents. However, with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and defenders Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero still out, Postecoglu was given more substance for his argument that new signings will be needed in January.

Forest could have scored two goals earlier, going back to five behind and with Spurs dominating the ball and territory for the final half hour, the game felt more in balance.

Forster had delivered an Elanga cross for Gibbs-White to race in to block his shot and the loose ball somehow stayed out of the Spurs goal.

For all their dominance, however, the closest Spurs came to equalizing was when Pape Sarr's cleared shot was returned to the area for Johnson to take a clean touch, eight yards, only for Sels to save at his feet. .