Nuno Espirito Santo says £5m player has been doing 'fantastically well' for Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest moved into the top ten of the Premier League table thanks to their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night. The Reds...
Nottingham Forest moved into the top ten of the Premier League table thanks to their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night.
The Reds secured their first home victory of the campaign as Chris Wood’s 65th-minute goal proved the difference at the City Ground.
Forest also had goalkeeper Matz Sels to thank for a number of great saves, thwarting the likes of Eberechi Eze and Jeffrey Schlupp during the match.
The 32-year-old has been a superb addition for Forest since his £5million move from Strasbourg at the start of the year.
And Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was eager to sing Sels’ praises as he discussed Forest’s solid defence.
The Reds have conceded just six in the league so far, a record bettered only by Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Nuno Espirito Santo says Matz Sels has been doing superbly for Nottingham Forest
“The basics was one of our priorities in terms of improvement,” Nuno told BBC Sport at his pre-Leicester City press conference, via Yahoo! Sport.
“Since we started pre-season, we wanted to become more solid and compact, not allowing too many chances. Matz is doing fantastically well.
“It’s nothing special, honestly! It’s what I think a football team has to become.
“It has to be solid, compact, and always covering and helping each other, throwing your body in front of the ball. This is defending. This is the basics of football.
“If we ignore this aspect of the game then things become much harder. If you only rely on how, where and how many we are going to score, I see it the other way round.
“When there is too many compliments, they are not good. We are doing well, period. We have to stay and improve. Don’t think that it’s over the moon.”
Matz Sels stats v Crystal Palace
As per Callum Castel on X, Sels made seven saves for Forest on the night, including five saves inside the box, and punched one effort away.
He also delivered 10 accurate long balls, posted an overall pass accuracy of 78 percent, made one clearance and seven recoveries, and won all of his aerial duels.
Needless to say, Sels has proven an inspired signing for Forest, and his efforts have been crucial in getting the City Ground side into the top half of the table.
What next for Forest?
Forest are next in Premier League action on Friday night when take on East Midlands rivals Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in an 8pm kick-off.
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