Forest lose ground in top-five race with draw against Leicester

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Nottingham Forest missed the chance to move into the top five as Facundo Buonanotte’s equaliser snatched a 2-2 draw for relegated Leicester City.

The spoils were shared in Sunday’s derby at the City Ground, where Forest secured European football for next season, but were unable to climb back into the UEFA Champions League places.

Chris Wood’s 20th Premier League goal of the season looked like it would seal all three points, after Morgan Gibbs-White cancelled out Conor Coady’s earlier header.

However, Buonanotte’s superb individual effort in the 81st minute rescued a point for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side, who were denied a late winner when Matz Sels saved from Jeremy Monga.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men remain seventh after they were unable to leapfrog Aston Villa and Chelsea, who were beaten by Newcastle United earlier on Sunday. Leicester stay 19th, but move level on points with Ipswich Town.

How the match unfolded

Forest fashioned the first two sights of goal inside the opening five minutes, with former Leicester striker Chris Wood volleying and then heading narrowly over.

Yet the Foxes struck first in the 16th minute. After the hosts failed to deal with Luke Thomas' long throw, Sels could only parry Bilal El Khannouss' fierce drive straight to Coady, who nodded home the rebound.

The hosts were back on level terms nine minutes later, though, when Anthony Elanga's inviting free-kick was glanced in by Gibbs-White.

Gibbs-White turned provider as Forest edged their noses in front 11 minutes after the restart, whipping in a delicious cross for Wood to convert with a fine header.

Leicester, though, were not beaten there. Buonanotte had plenty to do after latching onto Jamie Vardy’s clever touch, but the youngster brilliantly jinked inside Morato before slotting home a stunning equaliser, and Forest ultimately had their goalkeeper to thank preserving a point when he thwarted 15-year-old Monga deep in stoppage time.

Mixed feelings for Forest

Forest knew this was a great opportunity to take advantage of Chelsea’s defeat at St James’ Park.

Confidence will not have been brimming for Nuno's side, who had won just one of their last five Premier League games, while suffering back-to-back defeats on home soil.

Not only that, but they had won just one of the 10 league games in which they had conceded first this season, so the omens did not look promising when Coady headed Leicester in front.

To their credit, Forest hit back as they demonstrated their strength from dead-ball situations once again.

Wood then completed the turnaround with a lovely header for goal number 20 of an impressive season – and his 100th goal involvement in the Premier League – though they were ultimately unable to hold onto their lead.

European football will be coming to the City Ground next season as they are now mathematically certain of a top-seven finish, but the competition Forest will compete in is still to be decided, as they travel to West Ham United next weekend, before hosting Chelsea in a clash of potentially huge proportions on the final day, but their dip in form has come at just the wrong time.

Foxes finally showing fight

Fresh from ending their 11-game Premier League winless streak last weekend, Leicester were looking to record back-to-back victories for the first time since October.

The Foxes’ quest to do that started well enough as they took the lead via an unlikely source, with Coady finding the net for the first time in the division since October 2022.

However, the visitors left Gibbs-White unmarked in the box for the equaliser, while former Leicester striker Wood peeled away at the far post to expose the defensive fragility that has cost Leicester so dearly this term.

To their credit, Van Nistelrooy’s side refused to lie down and roll over for their local rivals.

While Vardy’s wait for his 200th Leicester goal continues, the skipper still made a vital contribution on his 300th Premier League start, with a neat touch creating space for Buonanotte to run into, though the latter still had plenty of work to do.

Leicester’s fate may already be sealed, but they will want to bow out of the top flight on a positive note, starting next week at home to fellow relegated side Ipswich, before travelling to AFC Bournemouth on the final day.

Club reports

Forest report | Leicester report

What the managers said

Nuno Espirito Santo: "Of course, it was a day that we put a lot of energy in to achieve the win. It's frustrating when you don't do it. It was our game to get. Easy to say, we need to be solid especially when we were controlling the game and being dominant. The goal was avoidable, we should have done much better. That's the frustration we have. No matter what happened to Leicester, they have quality players and showed that today to make it hard to beat them."

Ruud van Nistelrooy: "That is a point away at Brighton, a good performance against Liverpool, we beat Southampton and now a point here. We know we are relegated but we want to show what we're about. We want to keep showing and not give up on ourselves. We had to move on and not wait until next season to start. The reaction of the away fans is clear and I'm happy."

Remaining PL fixtures

Key facts

Nottingham Forest have won only one of their last six Premier League games (D2 L3), this after having only failed to win five of their prior 16 games in the competition, while they have failed to win a league game in which they were leading for the first time since February at Newcastle United (4-3 defeat).

Leicester City are unbeaten in successive Premier League games (W1 D1) for the first time since December, while they’ve scored six goals in their last five league games, as many as their prior 17.

Morgan Gibbs-White scored and assisted in the same Premier League game for Nottingham Forest for the first time since December 2024 at Manchester United, while it’s the sixth time he’s done so for the club in the competition, more than any other player.

Chris Wood recorded his 100th Premier League goal involvement (89 goals, 11 assists), while becoming just the second player to reach 20 goals for Nottingham Forest in a Premier League campaign, after Stan Collymore in 1994/95 (22).

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