Sean Dyche is up and running as the new head coach of Nottingham Forest after the Reds beat Porto 2-0 in the Europa League.
The Reds won the game courtesy of two goals from the penalty spot, with Morgan Gibbs-White scoring in the first half and Igor Jesus scoring his first City Ground goal in the Garibaldi.
It was the perfect start for Dyche, who opted for a tracksuit and not a suit, and barked out instructions alongside Forest legends Ian Woan and Steve Stone for the duration of the contest.
Forest had a number of solid performers for the first time in a few weeks, and this was a stark reminder that the Reds haven’t become a bad team all of a sudden despite Ange Postecoglou’s best efforts.
Douglas Luiz stars as Nottingham Forest beat Porto
The Brazilian player was rarely available to Postecoglou, and on his performance against Porto, perhaps that was a big problem for the Australian.
They say that 71% of planet Earth is covered by water, and on this showing, the rest is covered by Luiz, who glided around the City Ground doing whatever it took to help the Forest cause.
Luiz was handed a start alongside Elliot Anderson, and together the pair kept things nice and tidy, complementing each other throughout the contest.
Luiz was subbed in the second half and that didn’t come as a surprise given that he absolutely ran himself into the ground against a good Porto outfit.
Douglas Luiz statistics vs Porto
With every passing performance, Luiz seemingly makes a mockery of Nuno Espirito Santo, who didn’t want to pick him purely because he was signed by Edu.
That seems like a shame and although Forest will have to sign Luiz permanently if he plays over 20 times this season, that doesn’t feel like a problem given that he’s a Rolls-Royce of a player.
| Douglas Luiz stats vs Porto | Total |
| Minutes | 84 |
| Tackles | 2 |
| Interceptions | 3 |
| Clearances | 3 |
| Pass Accuracy | 94.6% |
| Who Scored Rating | 7.56 |
Luiz showcased to his new manager that he’s ready to play when called upon and if he can stay fit this season, signing him permanently looks like a foregone conclusion.
The Brazilian will want to force his way into the Brazil reckoning for the World Cup on this performance; he won’t be getting dropped any time soon.
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