Nottingham Forest have made a strong start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign and sit eighth in the table.
The Reds defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 on Monday night with Chris Wood grabbing his fifth goal in eight matches this season.
Forest were indebted to Matz Sels for some brilliant goalkeeping and being brutally honest the game could have gone either way.
Elliot Anderson was another top performer on the night but it was perhaps the Forest rearguard that was once again the most impressive aspect.
Ian Wright raved about Murillo and he’s been in fine form this season alongside Nikola Milenkovic who cost just £12 million from Fiorentina in the summer.
A remarkable statistic has emerged about Forest and that’s been a hot topic for discussion since the Reds’ latest victory.
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Kelvin Wilson raves about Nikola Milenkovic as Forest stat emerges
Forest led the way last season when it came to the most goals conceded from set pieces across the course of a season.
The Reds shipped a lot of goals from those situations but this season there has been a clear shift in that sense.
Forest have faced 51 corners this season but – touch wood – are yet to concede from one of those so far across the campaign.
It’s been put to Kelvin Wilson whether or not that’s down to Milenkovic or whether Nuno Espirito Santo actually deserves some praise too.
He told the Forest Focus podcast: “Milenkovic has made a massive difference, he’s vocal, and he’s a big boy at the back.
“That’s coaching though (the set pieces). Nuno will have watched videos of last season to try to pinpoint the problems and they’ve done that. The proof is in the pudding with the stats.”
Forest boss Espirto Santo deserves praise
Last season, the inability to defend deadball situations very nearly cost Forest their status as a Premier League football club.
Thankfully, things have been addressed in the summer and Milenkovic has clearly helped in that sense.
He’s been rock solid defensively and doesn’t lose out on much in the air when it comes to defending his own goal.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 7 |  TottenhamTottenham | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
| 8 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| 9 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
Although the Serbia captain is clearly a big reason for the defensive stability, Espirito Santo deserves some praise too.
He chopped and changed his defence a lot last season but this time around, he’s identified that a settled team is the way to go.
Espirito Santo has clearly worked tirelessly on the set-piece situation and hopefully, Forest can continue to get stronger as the season progresses on that front.
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