Nuno Espirito Santo reveals whether he regrets benching Anthony Elanga in FA Cup semi-final defeat

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Nuno Espirito Santo gave an extremely honest answer when asked whether it was a mistake not to start Anthony Elanga against Manchester City during Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup semi-final loss.

Forest fans were shocked that Elanga didn’t start the FA Cup clash – and for good reason. He changed the game when he entered the frame.

Nuno was ultimately to blame for the loss, and the decision to shun Elanga from the off was a big part of that.

But did Nuno regret this? He reflected on the decision to bench the Swede at full-time.

Nuno says he doesn’t necessarily regret benching Anthony Elanga for Manchester City clash

Asked on BBC Sport whether he regrets not starting Elanga, Nuno said: “I regret so many things in my life, but that is not the point. It is about having a squad to manage the situations that we have to attend to and the absences.

“Anthony came really well and strong to the game and created difficulties. When we look back and analyse, we have a lot to fight for. After the sadness goes away we’ll be stronger.

“We have to physically recover because it was very intense. This night will be hard on the mind but tomorrow is a new day to prepare and fight.”

Fair play. No point dwelling on things you now can’t change – now, five more finals in the form of the Premier League run-in await Elanga, Nuno and Forest.

Nottingham Forest’s Premier League run-in after FA Cup semi defeat

Nuno’s side are straight back in action on Thursday, with Brentford visiting the City Ground. Then the games come thick and fast, with just 24 days in between the remaining five fixtures.

The goal? Champions League football. They’re set to battle with the Chelsea, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Aston Villa for the honour in playing in Europe’s most prestigious competition.

Right now, it’s insanely close, and it’s anyone game.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
3	NewcastleNewcastle	34	19	5	10	65	44	21	62
4	Man CityManchester City	34	18	7	9	66	43	23	61
5	ChelseaChelsea	34	17	9	8	59	40	19	60
6	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	33	18	6	9	53	39	14	60
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	34	16	9	9	54	49	5	57
8	FulhamFulham	34	14	9	11	50	46	4	51

That being said – Forest do have some favourable fixtures. That last day of the season against Chelsea could be seriously tasty.