Player ratings as Spurs climb back into top four

FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Tottenham moved back into the Premier League’s top four with a 3-1 win at home to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Ange Postecoglou’s side again produced a second-half rally to ensure they took all three points, taking their total to 60 after 31 games – as many as they managed in all of last season.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s first return to Spurs since his 2021 sacking proved an unhappy one even if his Forest side put up a spirited fight.

How the game unfolded

After Bruno Fernandes had scored from around 50 yards in Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool earlier in the day, Forest defender Murillo tried his luck from even further back inside the opening ten minutes, with his speculative effort bouncing just wide of Guglielmo Vicario’s vacant net.

Tottenham took the lead after a slick move on 15 minutes, which ended with Son Heung-min switching play to the left to Timo Werner, whose low cross was diverted in off the toe of Murillo.

That early opener kicked Spurs into gear and they went close to adding a second soon after when Yves Bissouma flashed a shot wide of Matz Sels’ goal.

The hosts’ search for a second continued with Werner crossing for former Forest star Brennan Johnson, whose close-range shot was well saved by Sels.

But Forest found an equaliser with their first meaningful attack. Anthony Elanga combined with Neco Williams on the overlap down the right flank, and the Swede’s cutback was swept in by Chris Wood.

The visitors should have gone in front just after the half-hour mark. Ryan Yates forced a fine low save out of Vicario from the edge of the box, and Wood’s rebound from a few yards out cannoned back off the post.

Postecoglou brought on Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for the start of the second half, and the latter nearly made an immediate impact, forcing a flying save out of Sels having been left unmarked on the edge of the box from a corner.

Minutes later, Spurs went back in front. Another short corner was eventually worked to Son, who laid it back for Micky Van de Ven to lash into the top corner from 18 yards.

Soon after, Tottenham added a third. James Maddison did excellently to skip away from the trailing legs of Neco Williams and burst down the left, with his cross nodded down by Bentancur and into the path of Pedro Porro, who unleashed a fierce half-volley past Sels.

With just over five minutes remaining, Sels denied Son a customary goal with a low save, pushing the ball inches wide, but that was as…