Nottingham Forest have stayed in the Premier League longer than most outsiders anticipated they would do.
Right now, the Reds are playing in their fourth season back in the Premier League and are also playing in the Europa League.
Under Sean Dyche, this season has recovered somewhat after a turbulent start that saw Ange Postecoglou replace Nuno Espirito Santo.
Forest beat Tottenham 3-0 recently, whilst Liverpool were also beaten, and a solid point was gained at home against Manchester United, too.
With no Boxing Day fixtures to look forward to this year, we decided to have a look back at one of our best results since winning promotion, which happened to come on Boxing Day in 2023.
What happened when Nottingham Forest played Newcastle in 2023
The festive period is tricky for clubs to negotiate, with a number of games in such a short period of time making for unpredictable results.
In 2023, Espirito Santo had just replaced Steve Cooper as the new Forest head coach, losing his first match against Bournemouth in a game that controversially saw Willy Boly sent off.
Forest headed to Newcastle in desperate need of a victory amid some horrendous form, sitting 18th in the Premier League table, two points worse off than Luton, who were in 17th.
What happened at St James’ Park was a real coupon buster, with Chris Wood scoring an explosive hat-trick as Forest came from behind after Alexander Isak opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Wood’s three goals saw him claim the matchball and also briefly lifted Forest out of the bottom three, with another three points claimed later that week against Manchester United.
❓Can you guess the 3️⃣missing players from Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day in 2023
Let us know your guesses in the comments below…
Can you name the three Nottingham Forest players missing from a 3-1 win over Newcastle at St James’ Park in 2023?
Forest have come a long way since 2023
Although he’s now in a relegation scrap with West Ham, Forest do have a lot to thank Espirito Santo for and it all started with this win over Newcastle.
After remaining in the division during 2023/24, Forest kicked on last term, developed a strong, youthful squad and then qualified for the Europa League.
Things turned south for the Portuguese boss, of course, but ultimately, he started the ball rolling on Forest, establishing themselves as a Premier League club all over again.
This day in 2023 was a memorable one in the memory bank for supporters and hopefully, a few more happy memories can be made over the festive period in 2025.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
