It’s hard to find any negatives in Nottingham Forest’s impeccable 7-0 win against Brighton, but the fitness concerns surrounding Murillo could be one.
Joe Cole raved about Murillo’s display at the back for Forest after he put in an all-action display against Brighton, contributing defensively as well as with his passing ability.
It was a performance that would’ve come with a hint of relief for the Brazilian after Nuno Espirito Santo was frustrated with Murillo for his decision-making during Forest’s 5-0 defeat to Bournemouth in the previous fixture.
Murillo couldn’t have bounced back any better, though, winning six defensive duels and not being dribbled past once at the City Ground against Brighton.
However, the 72nd minute of the match brought an unwelcome sight for Forest fans as Murillo limped off the pitch, replaced by Willy Boly for the final 20 minutes of the match.
Whilst there was evidently no impact on the result, an injury to Murillo would greatly take the shine off the day for Forest fans, but footage shared by the club’s social media team may have offered a hint at the fitness of their Brazilian star.
Nottingham Forest fans given Murillo injury update in dressing room video
The Forest dressing room was understandably jubilant after the game as even Evangelos Marinakis was spotted celebrating with the Forest players in the tunnel at full time.
However, eagle-eyed Forest fans will have spotted a positive hint on the fitness of Murillo amongst the celebrations, from a video posted on social media to celebrate Morgan Gibbs-White’s 100th Forest appearance.
As the camera focuses on Gibbs-White, Murillo can be seen in the background jumping up in celebration of his teammate, without any sign of strapping or ice to soothe an injury.
There could easily be more to this story, but the fact that Murillo is moving freely in the Forest dressing room will be of huge relief to both fans and the Forest manager, who must’ve been holding his breath after discovering a brilliant new tactic that requires the fitness of the Brazilian defender.
Murillo will be crucial to Nuno Espirito Santo’s new system
To combat Callum Hudson-Odoi’s injury, Espirito Santo and the Forest coaching staff conjured up an ingenious tactical tweak which brought the best out of Murillo’s ability on the ball.
Leaving Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood as the team’s most advanced players, Espirito Santo replaced Hudson-Odoi with another centre-back in Morato, which strengthened up the Forest defence whilst also freeing up Murillo to be more creative from deep.
He managed to complete three dribbles in the game to drive the team further up the pitch which was equally aided by his nine passes into the final third for Wood and Elanga to feed on.
The change worked perfectly for Espirito Santo as Murillo’s unique abilities on the ball were able to be exploited more than when he is in a four-at-the-back system. Whether this is the only time we see this system remains to be seen, but the fitness of Murillo will have a big say on it’s future success.
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