Nottingham Forest were beaten 1-0 by PSV at the Phillips Stadion this evening. A second-half goal by Johan Bakayoko proved decisive during an entertaining pre-season affair.
Steve Cooper played a pretty strong team. He opted to play with three central defenders; whilst there was a first pre-season outing for Morgan Gibbs-White.
PSV had a player of interest in their starting line-up. Ibrahim Sangare is thought to be a top target for the Reds and he played in midfield for the Dutch outfit.
All in all, this proved a decent run out for Forest against a strong side. The Reds will know that they have some serious work to do, however, if they’re to be ready for the big Premier League start.
Following tonight’s pre-season clash, we rated the players out of 10 for their performances.
Nottingham Forest player ratings vs PSV:
Ethan Horvath – 6
Powerless to prevent the PSV goal and shortly after he made a very useful stop to keep Forest in the game. Otherwise had very little to do.
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Serge Aurier – 5
A very rusty performance from Aurier. He will need to improve his fitness if he’s to start at Arsenal in two weeks and he will be working hard to ensure he’s ready.
Joe Worrall – 6
Can perhaps count himself unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty in the second half and did show an improvement from his error on Thursday night.
Willy Boly – 7
Solid as a rock defensively. Boly is always strong in the tackle and this was a stereotypical performance from the colossus.
Scott McKenna – 6
Turned his back leading to the PSV goal but didn’t do too badly playing on the left of a three-man central defensive unit.
Ola Aina – 7
Looked very assured during his first 45 minutes in a Forest shirt. On this showing, he could prove to be a very useful free transfer.
Danilo – 7
Worked his socks off throughout the contest. With the right players around him, he could seriously star in the Premier League this season.
Orel Mangala – 6
Did a useful job for the Reds in the midfield area. Tried to keep things simple when Forest did have possession of the ball.
Ryan Yates – 6
A little wasteful in possession but was tenacious out of it and did a good job up against a solid PSV midfield.
Morgan Gibbs-White – 7
Did okay during the first half as he returned to action for the first time since winning the European Championships with England Under-21s. Hit the ball, forced a good save from the goalkeeper and was withdrawn on the hour.
Chris Wood – 6
Did little wrong other than find himself offside on a couple of occasions but did look pretty fit and sharp.
Notable substitutions
Neco Williams – 5
Brushed off far too easily for the goal and looked awkward throughout his time on the pitch playing as a left-back.
Anthony Elanga – 6
Showed some neat touches but was largely starved of service.
Hwang Ui-jo – 6
Puts himself about but much like Elanga, he didn’t get too much service.
Cheikhou Kouyate – 6
Put himself about. It will be interesting to see what role the experienced midfielder plays during 2023/24.
Remo Freuler – 6
Could this be the last time we see the Switzerland star in a Forest shirt? He’s been linked with Juventus and perhaps that’s something the club will look to do.
Josh Powell – 6
Has looked lively throughout pre-season and playing against PSV will go down as a vital piece of experience for the academy starlet.