Ange Postecoglou stunned at one thing he saw Nottingham Forest do vs Tottenham, says Alan Smith

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Nottingham Forest took on Tottenham on Monday Night Football, desperately looking for a victory after two successive defeats.

Things started extremely well for Forest and at the half-time interval, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team led by two goals to nil, with Chris Wood also having a goal ruled out for offside.

The Reds dominated the opening 20 minutes and perhaps could have been even more goals to the good, with Spurs extremely slow out of the blocks after making some changes to their team.

Forest have suffered in recent weeks, losing to Aston Villa and Everton in successive games, but this first half performance was at least a return to some sort of normality at the very least.

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Alan Smith shares what surprised him about Nottingham Forest

The team selection did cause a bit of a shock from a Forest perspective. Harry Toffolo came in for a game at left-back, with Callum Hudson-Odoi on the bench, with Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White and Wood all playing in attack.

Smith was on co-commentary for this one for Sky Sports and he thought that Espirito Santo did something that completely bamboozled Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham.

He said on commentary: “I just wonder if this formation for Forest has just caught Ange Postecoglou cold. I’m really not sure they’d have prepared for it. It’s surprised us a bit. It’s certainly not how we’ve been used to them setting up, but it’s worked for them.”

Nuno Espirito Santo showcases flexibility

It completely highlights just how strong the squad is that Espirito Santo can make some subtle changes and still look relatively strong against a team like Tottenham.

Toffolo had now really played for a while and he was in pretty steady form at left-back throughout the first half, despite coming up against Wilson Odobert, who was in fine form.

Espirito Santo will be pleased that some of his fringe players were able to play in this fashion, with Danilo also making a solid showing after not starting games for a few weeks.

There are now five big games left to play in the Premier League this season, and the hope will be that some confidence can be taken from the first half performance away from home.