Nottingham Forest fly high after ending Brentford's unbeaten home run | first division

Finally, the Gtech Fortress was breached, its walls and tower destroyed by the pragmatism of Nuno Espírito Santo. The Premier League surprise package achieved its best home record as Nottingham Forest consolidated the top four place it had started in after Manchester City's latest crisis.

The best-ranked visitors so far in the stadium where goals and victories previously rained down for the home team remained Brentford at bay with a mix of discipline and avant-garde. The goals from Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga were pincer movements taking advantage of the defensive disorganization.

“We are very proud of everything we have been able to achieve, but we haven't achieved anything yet,” Nuno said. “It's not about the table. “It's about improving, about realizing that there is still a long way to go and that we haven't achieved anything yet.” Not that his words could dampen the excitement of the noisy traveling Forest fans. Or his players. “It's like a dream,” said Aina, the goal scorer.

As usual, Brentford headed straight for Forest's throat only to be methodically eliminated. “It's annoying, but it happens,” Thomas Frank said of the first home loss of the season. “We were on top in many moments, but we had more dangerous moments without having clear chances.” Mikkel Damsgaard, Brentford's playmaker, forced Matz Sels' first save in the fourth minute.

Forest had looked light on the midfield ballast as they attempted to weather that early storm. Ryan Yates, Forest's main firebrand, was only fit to fill the bench, leaving Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson an inexperienced pair. “They are young, though,” Nuno said. “It's his knowledge of the game.”

That Nuno used pace to counter and support Chris Wood will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with his management style. There were some nervous moments. Morato, making his first Forest start in that defensive trio, lofted a ball high, inviting Yoane Wissa to volley just over.

Forest fans, never slow to attack officials, took it upon themselves to criticize Michael Oliver, the referee, for cautioning Murillo for a perfectly cautionable offence: a high boot on Wissa. His team's first chance came when Wood's header forced a save from Mark Flekken, although the New Zealander could have done better.

A change in momentum caused Thomas Frank to reach for his notebook, trying not to smudge his words in the wet conditions. These danger signs proved correct when Forest's first goal arrived. Neco Williams' ball entered from the left, Wood's run acted as a dummy. Aina took advantage of the assistance from her winger partner with a low shot.

Nuno being Nuno, his three-man defense soon began to operate as a five-man, rarely becoming a trio, Williams' wings clipped if Aina remained an occasional raider. Only Chelsea have won more points away from home than Forest's 17. The number of goals conceded is at the level of the top four, only the defenses of Liverpool and Arsenal are stingier.

Three more points away led M1 once Elanga scored, taking advantage of Keane Lewis-Potter's misreading of a ball deflected by the wind, cleverly placing his shot into the bottom corner.

That was made possible by Nikola Milenkovic's composure in stopping Damsgaard's dangerous solo run. A new tackle on Kevin Schade showed the Serbian's elite reading of the game.

The honor of Gtech would not be handed down meekly. Brentford pushed for a reverse, albeit ineffectively. The pattern of the last 30 minutes of the game was one of knocks on Forest's door, but only slightly. Kristoffer Ajer's volley that forced Sels into a good save was the highlight for a team that normally finds it easy to score goals. “It's huge for us,” Nuno said of the goalkeeper's key contributions.

“He's been fantastic,” Elanga said of Nuno. “He speaks a lot of languages, so I think that helps the players.”

Yates arrived to resume his rat duties and achieve a fifth away victory of the season. An assault on the once impregnable added Champions League dreams to Forest's festive celebrations.