Anthony Elanga wows, Chris Wood flops: Nottingham Forest player ratings vs Ipswich
Nottingham Forest closed the gap to second placed Arsenal to one point in the Premier League table with victory over struggling Ipswich Town.
Nottingham Forest were looking to build on their win over Man City last week in this trip to Portman Road.
After a goalless opening half-an-hour, they then looked to have ensured they did that in just seven minutes.
With ten minutes to go before half time, the hosts failed to clear a corner which was recycled back into their own area, where Liam Delap’s header fell into the path of Nikola Milenkovic who finished brilliantly.
Two minutes later Anthony Elanga broke down the right before cutting inside and firing into the bottom far corner.
| Nottingham Forest last five games | Result |
| Newcastle (A) | Lost 4-3 |
| Arsenal (H) | Drew 0-0 |
| Ipswich (H) | Drew 1-1 (won 5-4 on penalties) |
| Man City (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Ipswich (A) | Won 4-2 |
Just moments before half time the winger got his second, capitalising on some non-existent defending from a long ball forward before firing past Alex Palmer to make it 3-0 to Nottingham Forest.
The scoreline would remain that way until the final ten minutes of normal time, when Jens Cajuste fired into the top corner from just outside the area to pull a goal back for Ipswich.
Nottingham Forest though would quickly shut down any slim hopes of a fightback from the hosts, when Morgan Gibbs-White set up substitute Jota to slide home a fourth with three minutes to go.
All of that meant George Hirst’s stoppage time header was little more than a consolation for the hosts, as Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side secured a 4-2 win.
Here is a look at how Football Insider rated the performances of the Nottingham Forest in that match with Ipswich Town.
Nottingham Forest defence have an easy day
Matz Sels – 6
This was surely one of the easiest matches of the season for the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, who only had a couple of comfortable saves to make early in the second half, couldn’t get to Cajuste’s strike.
Ola Aina – 6
Ipswich did seem to target his right side more, but without too much reward as the right-back and his teammates held firm.
Nikola Milenkovic – 8
Largely comfortable from a defensive perspective, and produced an excellent touch and finish to put his team into the lead.
Murillo – 6
Speculation continues to surround a potential Nottingham Forest exit for Murillo, but this was one afternoon where he did not have much to worry about defensively.
Neco Williams – 7
A solid defensive performance and looked to get forward well to help his side from an attacking perspective.
Nicolas Dominguez – (off for Yates, ’67) – 5
An unspectacular performance in the centre of the park, before he was booked for a poor challenge and then substituted by Nuno before he could follishly talk himself into a second yellow.
Elliot Anderson – 7
Did well in the centre of the park, including with a clever pass to set Elanga away to score the first of his two goals.
Anthony Elanga – (off for Morato, ’67) – 9 – Man of the Match
Two excellent and clinical finishes capped off a fine performance from the Sweden international who covered plenty of ground to keep the Ipswich defence troubled.
Morgan Gibbs-White sends a message
Morgan Gibbs-White – (off for Danilo, ’89) 8
Gibbs-White was left out of the England squad to the shock of many this week, and seemed keen to make a point as he looked to dictate play early on in particular, before unselfishly setting up Jota for the fourth late on.
Callum Hudson-Odoi – (off for Jota, ’81) 8
Hudson-Odoi got the only goal in the win over Man City last week. While he didn’t make the difference in front of goal this time, this was another bright performance where he looked a threat in the early stages.
Chris Wood – (off for Awoniyi, ’80) 5
Involved as ever going forward, but missed some chances that by his standards this season you would expect him to put away easily.
Substitutes
Ryan Yates (on for Dominguez, ’67) – 6
Brought on to help prevent Dominguez getting himself sent off and did a job in midfield.
Morato (on for Elanga, ’67) – 6
Helped to see things out after replacing the key man in Elanga.
Taiwo Awoniyi (on for Wood, ’80) – 5
Didn’t see the opportunities that Wood had while he was on the pitch.
Jota Silva (on for Hudson-Odoi, ’81) – 7
A good finish to shut down any hopes of an Ipswich comeback.
Danilo (on for Gibbs-White, ’89) – 5
The game was won by the time he came on.