Micah Richards heaped praise on Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood after his equaliser earned a point for the Reds against Manchester City.
The Match of the Day pundit was at a loss to explain how the champions didn’t win comfortably but he did give Forest some credit.
It proved a tough afternoon for the Reds. They were forced to defend for large parts of the contest and didn’t have much possession at all.
But, with just one goal in the game and the clock ticking towards 90, the Reds made City pay for their wastefulness in front of goal.
Richards was clearly smarting that City had dropped points but the ex-City and England player did have praise for Wood.
He told Match of the Day: “It’s a brilliant finish from Wood. He’s made a great run and he’s ended up as the super sub. It could have been six or seven to Manchester City but fair play to Nottingham Forest.”
Wood arrived at Forest from Newcastle during the January transfer window. He initially joined on loan but after starting three games, it will become permanent in the summer.
Ahead of the game, he’d been forced to fend off some criticism from his own supporters. Hopefully, the critics can remain off his case and let him get used to the way in which Forest play.
Wood receives praise from Richards on Match of the Day
It’s quite refreshing to watch Match of the Day after a positive result for the Reds. It’s one aspect of being back in the Premier League that perhaps still hasn’t sunk in for some fans.
For Richards, it might have been hard to praise Forest. Clearly, he’s rooting for City in the title race and these dropped two points aren’t exactly ideal on the back of another Arsenal win.
As for Wood, his challenge now is to gain some consistency. He knows what it takes to score goals in the Premier League and Forest will hope this is his first of many.
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