Nottingham Forest midfielder João Carvalho made another positive contribution against Queens Park Rangers.
There are many Reds supporters who have taken to Twitter to praise the £13 million signing. At the same time, big questions are being asked as to why he was left out of the side for so long.
The Reds faced Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road at the weekend, in a meaningless mid-table encounter. It wasn’t going to be easy, especially considering the Reds hadn’t won away from home since November.
But Forest ensured they secured back-to-back wins for the first time in the Championship since September. There’s no doubt that this has somewhat eased the pressure on Martin O’Neill.
O’Neill’s side did create a few clear chances in the first half. However, they had to wait until the second to make the breakthrough.
Joe Lolley and Carvalho combined well before the Portuguese midfielder played Karim Ansarifard in on goal. The 29-year-old striker made no mistake as he scored his second goal for the club.
It’s fair to say Carvalho didn’t produce the same level of performance as he did against Middlesbrough. But he still came up with a moment of magic to turn one point into three.
The 22-year-old has only recently been drafted back into the starting line-up by O’Neill. This has led to many Reds supporters raising the question on where they’d be if Carvalho had featured more regularly.
‘Wins you games’, ‘Frankly criminal’
O’Neill has only started Carvalho in three of his 18 games since replacing Aitor Karanka. Not playing him when the Reds needed him most may have cost them a place in the play-offs.
There’s no doubt that Carvalho has the potential to be a huge player next season. He’s surely done enough in recent weeks to prove to O’Neill that he has to be a key part of his plans.
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