Nuno admits one player to play an ‘important’ part for Nottingham Forest despite limited starts recently

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Nottingham Forest squeezed past Ipswich Town in the FA Cup last night as the Reds won another penalty shootout in the competition.

Exeter fell foul to some brilliant Forest penalties in round four and in the fifth round it was Ipswich who found Matz Sels inspired between the posts.

Nuno Espirito Santo celebrated wildly at the end. He knows the importance of the cup competitions and Forest now have a one-off game against Brighton to try and reach Wembley.

It was Ryan Yates who pulled Forest level on the night to take the game to penalties. He cancelled out the opening goal scored by George Hirst at the City Ground.

Espirito Santo is a huge fan and after the game he suggested what the midfielder is learning to do better and add to his game.

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What Nuno Espirito Santo said about Ryan Yates after FA Cup win

Yates is the Forest captain and he’s ultimately a player who lives and breathes Nottingham Forest Football Club.

He leads by example in every game he plays and he will hope that this performance earns him a place in Espirito Santo’s team for Saturday’s game against Manchester City.

The Forest boss was seriously happy for his skipper after his goal against Ipswich and heaped praise on him afterwards.

Espirito Santo told Nottinghamshire Live: “He gets into the box really well. He is always dangerous on set pieces – and even in open play when he reaches those areas. He is an important player for us.”

Ryan Yates stats vs Ipswich

The midfielder has been a decent player for the Reds over the years and he’s vastly improved in the Premier League.

Yates is still learning and at 27-years-old he won’t be far off of his peak as a central enforcer at this level.

His performance last night was largely okay. He also scored a second goal for Forest but sadly the assistant referee had raised her flag to curb the celebrations.

Yates is pushing hard for a place in the Premier League team at the moment and this performance might have given Espirito Santo some decisions to make ahead of Saturday.