A team who cannot beat Leicester at home do not deserve to qualify for the Champions League. It really is that simple.
Shower praise on Nottingham Forest’s season all you like. This Leicester side is one of the poorest of modern times in the Premier League and will deservedly spend next season in the Championship. Forest can blame nobody but themselves for dropping two points on their own patch.
That makes it a single point from three games here against Everton, Brentford and Leicester. It is this run that will likely cost Forest a place in Europe’s premier club competition next term, something they seemed certain to achieve for so long. No wonder the players sank to the ground at full-time, suspecting their race was run.
Despite falling behind to Conor Coady’s goal for the already-relegated Foxes, strikes either side of half-time from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood put Forest back on track. They always looked jumpy, though, and it was no great shock when substitute Facundo Buonanotte equalised for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men in the final 10 minutes.
On his 300th Premier League start for Leicester, Jamie Vardy could not manage his 200th goal for the club but the old wind-up merchant will be delighted to have put a spanner in the works for Leicester’s East Midlands rivals.
Forest must now beat West Ham and Chelsea in their final two matches but their current form provides few reasons for optimism.
So deadly for most of the season, Wood has struggled to recapture maximum sharpness since he returned to action after a hip injury sustained while playing for New Zealand in March.
The early-season version would surely have taken one of the two chances that fell to him inside the opening five minutes.
Neco Williams crossed from the left, Wilfred Ndidi missed his clearance and Wood could not react quickly enough to steer the bouncing ball under the crossbar. Moments later, Wood was stationed perfectly at the far post to meet Anthony Elanga’s cross only to guide the header off target.
Like Brentford and Everton, Leicester had worked out that the way to frustrate Forest at home is to allow them the ball. The visitors have long since been consigned to Championship football yet an East Midlands derby was enough to focus their minds and they took a shock lead in the 16th minute.
Luke Thomas’ long throw caused confusion among a Forest defence suffering from the absence of injured centre-back Murillo. When the ball was cleared only to Bilal El Khannouss on the edge of the box, Matz Sels saved his drive but the ball looped perfectly for Coady to head it home, as Forest waited for an offside flag that never arrived.
Gibbs-White was without a goal or an assist in his previous eight matches and after a slow start here, the home crowd were starting to grumble a little. How relieved they were, then, when Elanga was fouled by Thomas on the right, took the free-kick himself and Gibbs-White drifted to the near post to nod it beyond Jakub Stolarczyk.
Gibbs-White’s celebration indicated that he was aware of the frustration among supporters at his display. That tension would have been lifted again had Stolarczyk not saved from Nicolas Dominguez in the final minute of the half, with Wood unable to readjust in time to put his header on target.
Just before the interval, referee’s assistant Sian Massey-Ellis was booed by Forest fans, who believed Thomas had strayed over the touchline before delivering another long throw.
Forest tried to begin the second half on the front foot and Dominguez was desperately close to making a decisive contact on Ola Aina’s cross. The Argentine then headed straight at Stolarczyk from eight yards after Elanga’s cross hit Wout Faes and fell ideally for him.
The stadium exploded with relief 11 minutes into the half as Wood stepped up for his team yet again. After Morato had dumped El Khannouss on the deck with a firm challenge, Gibbs-White’s delightful cross was too good for Coady and James Justin and Wood did the rest with a flying header.
Despite their lead, Forest looked nervy at the back. Morato’s mistimed challenge nearly let in Vardy and when Aina allowed a dropping ball to pass over his head, Kasey McAteer nearly reached it ahead of Sels.
Sensing Forest’s anxiety, Foxes boss Ruud van Nistelrooy sent on winger Jeremy Monga, who does not turn 16 until July, for his fifth senior appearance.
His fellow substitute Buonanotte had looked very lively after coming on and claimed a fine equaliser nine minutes from time. Vardy turned Victor Kristiansen’s lay-off into his path, the Argentine stepped inside Morato with ease and clipped it beyond Sels. Deep into stoppage time, Monga drew a fine stop from Sels as Leicester held on comfortably.