For Nottingham Forest, a home game against Newcastle was the first acid test on home soil of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.
The Reds had previously welcomed Bournemouth, Wolves, Fulham, Crystal Palace and West Ham to the City Ground.
Newcastle were the first team fancied to do well to come to Nottingham and test a Forest team who found themselves in third place ahead of the game.
Ultimately, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men failed the test.
Forest tried hard. So hard that at half-time it was a case of so far, so good after Murillo had headed the Reds into the lead.
Espirito Santo hailed Murillo for his first Forest goal and he will now head to Brazil for World Cup Qualifiers full of confidence.
However, the second half was pretty one-sided with Newcastle taking the initiative and scoring three good goals.
Anthony Taylor was the match referee and some fans pointed the finger at him.
In truth, however, that was a severe case of straw clutching with Forest unable to find a way back into the game once Newcastle had scored.
Kevin Nolan hails Nottingham Forest star Anthony Elanga
The Reds weren’t at the races in the second half on Sunday but the first half was decent.
Kevin Nolan was watching the game for BBC Radio 5 Live and he was pretty impressed with Forest at half-time.
He was particularly happy with Anthony Elanga for his part in the goal scored by Murillo.
Nolan told BBC Sport: “It’s quality from Elanga. A fantastic bit of play. That delivery, that’s where Forest get their goal.”
Elanga has taken some time to get going during the 2024/25 campaign.
He’s yet to score for Forest but his last few performances have offered hope that the best is still to come for Elanga this season.
Forest would be wise to keep Elanga despite Newcastle interest
The Reds faced interest from Newcastle for Elanga on transfer deadline day but Forest stood firm.
A valuation of £50 million was enough to thwart Newcastle in their efforts to sign the winger and turn attention elsewhere.
Elanga hasn’t been at full speed during the current campaign so far but he hasn’t become a bad player overnight.
At 22-years-old it will very much be a case of peaks and troughs, with supporters having to show understanding towards his development.
The break is probably coming at the wrong time for Elanga and it offers him a chance to rest, reset and prepare go again after the international break.
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