Burnley draw leaves Ange Postecoglou with a Nottingham Forest problem that started with Nuno

Add as preferred source on Google

Nottingham Forest’s indifferent start under Ange Postecoglou continued against Burnley, emphasising a problem that started under Nuno Espírito Santo.

Forest drew 1-1 with Burnley, with the Reds not winning since the opening day of the season against Brentford, leaving Postecoglou’s side in 14th after five games.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
12	FulhamFulham	4	1	2	1	3	4	-1	5
13	BrightonBrighton	5	1	2	2	6	8	-2	5
14	Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest	5	1	2	2	5	9	-4	5
15	BrentfordBrentford	4	1	1	2	5	7	-2	4
16	BurnleyBurnley	5	1	1	3	5	8	-3	4

There were more positive signs, but Postecoglou admitted his new signings need time to adapt as the Premier League campaign continues to stutter.

The result itself may not have been particularly noteworthy, but one aspect of the game highlighted a problem that the Australian has inherited from Nuno Espírito Santo.

Nottingham Forest haven’t kept a clean sheet since April

Burnley’s equaliser against Forest didn’t show Postecoglou’s defence in its best light, as both Nikola Milenkovic and Morato failed to deal with a cross before Oleksandr Zinchenko bundled the ball in.

Forest haven’t kept a clean sheet all season, but these defensive struggles are not exclusive to Postecoglou, as Espírito Santo oversaw the three opening fixtures.

The lack of clean sheets goes back to the 24/25 campaign, too, as the Reds’ last competitive defensive shutout came on April 1 when Forest beat Manchester United at the City Ground.

It’s a remarkable stat when remembering that Matz Sels won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award last season, leading to Sels being nominated for World Goalkeeper of the Year. To be fair to Postecoglou, though, he has been dealt a difficult defensive hand at Forest thus far.

Ange Postecoglou hasn’t been able to play his strongest defence

Just as Postecoglou was arriving at the City Ground, Ola Aina injured his hamstring on Nigeria duty, leaving the Australian without his star right-back.

Aina will be out until December at least, with Neco Williams filling in at right-back thus far in the Premier League and Oleksandr Zinchenko in on the left.

To make matters worse, Murillo missed the Burnley trip after a knock against Arsenal, leaving Morato to deputise at centre-back.

It’s fair to say that Postecoglou’s football is not the most defensive, but if he is to succeed at the City Ground, the Australian must address the clean sheet concern.