Nottingham Forest were brought back down to Earth on Saturday by Bournemouth, losing 5-0 to their hosts in the Premier League.
Forest’s defeat against Bournemouth was Nuno Espirito Santo’s side’s biggest defeat of the season by far, adding to the shock of the result given the Forest squad’s excellent run of form of late.
A Dango Ouattara hattrick was supplemented by goals from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo, with Espirito Santo enraged by Murillo’s performance in a miserable defensive display.
Even Andoni Iraola must’ve been shocked by the manner of his side’s victory after Forest’s away record was deemed ‘ridiculous’ by Iraola in the build-up to the game.
Another pre-game narrative was the fitness of Callum Hudson-Odoi who is a staple on the left side for Espirito Santo. Hudson-Odoi was injured against Southampton and didn’t make the squad to face Bournemouth, leading Forest fans to voice their displeasure at the performance of his replacement.
Nottingham Forest fans slam Jota Silva vs Bournemouth
Portuguese winger Jota Silva was drafted in to replace Hudson-Odoi, with Anthony Elanga moving to the left side to accommodate Silva’s preference for the right wing.
However, his display left Forest fans incredibly disappointed, with supporters taking to social media to voice their opinion on his showing.
One angry Forest fan wrote: “Silva is a liability”, whilst another said: “I just don’t know what Silva offers”
Another added: “Jota Silva is too slow to play the role out wide for us,” with another Forest fan saying: “Jota Silva is all over the place!”
One fan also said: “Honestly don’t get why we keep persisting with Jota Silva he’s nowhere near Premier League level!”, with another claiming: “Jota Silva for CHO is chalk and cheese.”
It’s evident to see why the Forest fans were so damning about the Portuguese winger, given how he performed statistically against Bournemouth.
Jota Silva’s difficult Bournemouth display in numbers
Silva signed for Forest in August from Vitoria de Guimaraes as competition to Hudson-Odoi but he did himself no favours in terms of earning the trust of the Forest coaching staff against Bournemouth.
In his 66 minutes on the pitch, Silva failed to create a single chance for his Forest teammates which is a staple of Hudson-Odoi’s performances.
He also didn’t connect with any of his crosses for Chris Wood, whilst only playing one pass into the final third to help his side create opportunities.
To his credit, he did win seven out of his nine ground duels and all three of his aerial duels, but it was further forward where he needed to produce on Saturday and it just never happened.
Michael Dawson hailed Silva’s performance against Luton at the beginning of January, levels he will need to find again to make up for his troubling display against Bournemouth.
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