Nottingham Forest beat Brentford 2-0 at the weekend to move five points clear of the relegation zone in the Premier League.
Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi were the goalscorers against the Bees, who had been in brilliant form on home soil.
Sean Dyche cut a relieved figure at the final whistle, with West Ham closing the gap on the Reds to two points with a win over Sunderland on Saturday.
Forest deserved their win in West London, however, and with Crystal Palace, Leeds and Wolves to play next, there is now a real opportunity for the Reds to kick on in the Premier League.
Alan Shearer hailed Nikola Milenkovic for his efforts, but Troy Deeney picked out another star for praise when compiling his Team of the Week.
Troy Deeney raves about ‘fantastic’ Ibrahim Sangare
The Ivorian performer has been brilliant since returning from his African Cup of Nations commitments, and he was in fine form again on Sunday at Brentford.
Deeney was impressed, and he’s essentially said that his presence on the pitch helps Elliot Anderson considerably.
The pundit told BBC Sport: “Lost him during AFCON and it wasn’t the same midfield. He is a pitbull next to Elliot Anderson; he does all of the ugly stuff and breaks it up. A fantastic footballer and part of a solid defensive unit, which obviously Forest needed.”
Sangare cost £30 million from PSV in the summer of 2023, and he’s taken some time to get up to speed in the Premier League.
However, this season he’s been superb across the campaign, with even his biggest critics waking up to smell the coffee regarding the midfielder.
🗣️Troy Deeney raves about Ibrahim Sangare but how would you rate his latest performance out of 1️⃣ 0️⃣?
Sangare can be a huge player for Forest this season
The combative performer is on course for Player of the Year at Forest this season and his performances can help the Reds remain in the Premier League at a canter this season.
Sangare has taken some time to silence his critics, but right now, it’s difficult to find any fault with a player who has worked so hard to become a Premier League player.
It’s great that he’s been singled out for praise from Deeney because, as he says, he often does the ugly stuff that doesn’t get the level of praise that scoring goals does.
It’s been wonderful to watch Sangare thrive this season, and hopefully, there is more to come from the midfielder as the season heads towards the business end.
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