Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has identified Nottingham Forest as genuine promotion contenders following a 0-0 draw between the two teams on Saturday (Bristol Live).
Johnson saw his side’s attacking qualities nullified by the Reds at the weekend. The result kept Sabri Lamouchi’s team above Johnson’s in the Championship table.
Forest had the best chance of the game, with Lewis Grabban firing wide late on. Nonetheless, a share of the spoils proved a solid point for the Reds.
Ryan Yates was dismissed in the 57th minute for an awful challenge on Adam Nagy and will now serve a three-match ban.
Johnson saw enough in Lamouchi’s team to expect them to maintain their challenge for a top-six berth.
He told Bristol Live: “I think they’re a strong side. There’s big money been spent there. They’ve got a lot of players and they’re very organised. They’re a good side.
“You could see their game plan – to sit in and frustrate and we had to get the ball from them. We didn’t test their goalkeeper enough.”
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Forest’s defensive resolve has been the catalyst to a strong start during 2019/20.
Another clean sheet was thoroughly deserved. Brice Samba was immense, Joe Worrall colossal and Tobias Figueiredo a pillar of strength
Bristol City were viewed by many as serious automatic promotion contenders at the start of the season. Johnson’s comments about Forest suggest that rivals are starting to notice the work being done by the Reds.
Expectation
Lamouchi has worked wonders in such a short space of time. Having never managed in England before, some supporters anticipated a period of transition.
He has quickly found a winning formula, however. His team do sit in away from home, with the intention of working the counter but so far it’s proved effective.
Forest couldn’t take their late chance on Saturday but a draw would have been taken at the start.
The fact that the Reds left Ashton Gate disappointed not to have won their third game in succession perhaps highlights how far the club has come.
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