Micah Richards hammered four Nottingham Forest players on Match of the Day last night. The Premier League winner was critiquing the Reds after they threw away a two-goal lead.
Forest drew 2-2 with Luton Town to make it five games minus a victory for Steve Cooper. The Reds haven’t won any game since they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in September.
Two goals from Chris Wood had placed Forest in the driving seat but goals from Cheidozie Ogbene and Elijah Adebayo earned Luton a point that they thoroughly deserved.
Richards hammers four Nottingham Forest players
The pundit wasn’t overly impressed. As a defender himself during his playing days, he was tasked with critiquing the performance and he didn’t hold back on Forest.
He told Match of the Day: “The defending here is absolutely atrocious. Serge Aurier slips, I think, that’s fine. Harry Toffolo doesn’t react and they’ve got six players and they’re not on their toes ready to see if something is going to happen.
“The second one is even worse for me. As a defender, in this position, it’s Joe Worrall, you’ve got to win the header. And then Ola Aina has to anticipate it and he just doesn’t tuck in.”
Pundit has a point about Forest defending
It’s perhaps a little bit wrong Richards to say that Aurier slips. The footage clearly shows that he doesn’t and he tried to head clear when he should be able to clear with his feet.
Toffolo doesn’t anticipate but in fairness, it’s perhaps a stretch to blame him too. The second goal, however, is a complete and utter mess and Forest have to learn quickly.
Aurier is a seasoned professional and he will be gutted with what happened yesterday. Similarly, Worrall is the captain and as a Nottingham-born player, he’s going to have to learn quickly.
Defending against target men has always been his vice. Steve Cooper throwing him on to deal with Adebayo made little sense and it proved to be a mess all around.
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