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Just as Wolves had started to dream of a brighter future under Vítor Pereira, it was the ghosts of the past that haunted Molineux as their former head coach Nuno Espírito Santo and academy product Morgan Gibbs-White snatched the points to send Nottingham Forest level with Arsenal.
Wolves were unbeaten under Pereira and were the superior side for almost the entirety of the match but as they saw chances come and go, while portraying Gibbs-White as a pantomime villain, it seemed inevitable what the outcome would be. Nuno took Wolves into Europe and is plotting the same trick with Forest after a sixth victory in a row, sealed by goals from Gibbs-White, Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Pereira faced a key quandary as he had to work out how to replace the suspended Matheus Cunha, who is Wolves’ top scorer with 10 goals in 19 matches. The head coach opted for five changes overall, including a Premier League debut for 18-year-old Brazilian Pedro Lima at right-back, giving him the simple task of keeping Callum Hudson-Odoi quiet, and attack-minded wing-back Rayan Aït-Nouri as a centre-back.
The new England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, was in attendance but had limited eligible Englishmen on view. There were four starters between the two teams. One of those, the recently-capped Gibbs-White, was booed whenever he touched the ball on his return to Wolves, possibly a harsh reflection on someone that was given limited chances at Molineux before being sold to Forest for a healthy fee.
The boos were soon drowned out by the away end cheering his name when Gibbs-White dribbled 50 yards down the middle of the pitch, without being pressured by a Wolves man, after a quick break. The England international exchanged passes with Anthony Elanga inside the box before finding the bottom corner. Gibbs-White put his fingers in his ears in front of the home supporters, who did not protest too much, knowing what they are missing out on.
Wolves had offered little in the way of an attacking threat in the early stages but in the space of two minutes, Murillo was forced to block a Jørgen Strand Larsen shot from two yards out on the line, Matz Sels tipped over a Rodrigo Gomes volley and then reacted smartly from the resulting corner to maintain Forest’s advantage. Wolves showed they did not need Cunha to cause problems.
This is a new Wolves under Pereira, who oversaw two wins and a draw in his opening three games, and were the better side at Molineux after the opener. There is more confidence and willingness within the ranks since Gary O’Neil’s sacking and Forest seemed somewhat surprised by the transformation as they struggled to cope with the speed of movement by those in gold. If it was not for Sels, Strand Larsen would have headed home an equaliser from close range on the half hour mark but the goalkeeper stayed resolute.
The cobbled-together nature of Wolves’ defence was highlighted before the break as Hudson-Odoi outpaced the backline, sprinting into the box before pulling the ball back for Wood, who had manoeuvred to find space, to divert home his 12th goal of the season. It was a fine counterattack, proving that Forest are unconcerned by lacking possession, as they made Wolves pay for missing chances.
It was still Wolves who were enjoying the majority of the ball as they repeatedly reached the edge of the Forest area, but the cutting edge that was evident in the first half was deserting them. The crowd also seemed to lose some of its vigour, forgetting that times had changed since O’Neil left. Pereira acted by sending on Jean Ricner-Bellegarde and Mario Lemina to provide new ideas in attack and steel in midfield.
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Forest continued to soak up pressure and play on the break but their frustration of not reaching the Wolves goalmouth showed when Murillo decided to shoot from 50 yards. José Sá was not particularly preoccupied by the ball as it flew high and somewhat wide.
Nuno found it necessary to change the system in the hope of stemming the flow of attacks and aerial threat of Strand Larsen. Morato was sent on to become a third centre-back in a back five, while Gibbs-White dropped into a deeper central midfield role.
The cold in the air was reflected on the pitch in the closing stages as the tempo dropped and Forest added a third on yet another break, finished by Awoniyi, to ensure they started January with a crucial victory for what could be an incredibly exciting year.
