Nottingham Forest drew 0-0 at home with Fulham and moved out of the relegation zone on goal difference, but manager Vitor Pereira remains winless in his four Premier League games in charge.
Forest had fallen to the bottom three after West Ham picked up a surprise point against Manchester City on Saturday night. However, less than 24 hours later they were reshuffled again after a poor stalemate at the City Ground.
Dan Ndoye looked to have given the hosts a valuable lead when he slotted past Bernd Leno midway through the second half, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
Nottingham Forest winger Dan Doe had his goal ruled out for offside.
Ndoye was brought on at half-time by Pereira, who has won just one of the seven games he has managed in all competitions. He made an immediate impact, winning a penalty after a clumsy foul on Calvin Bassey, but it was later ruled out for offside again.
Pereira’s half-time substitution and the introduction of Omari Hutchinson made Forest’s attack even more dangerous, but it was right-back Ola Aina who came closest with a shot that rattled the crossbar from the edge of the box.
11th-placed Fulham failed to have a shot on target in the first half despite Bassey forcing a great save from Mats Sells, who was again ruled offside.
In the second half, Rodrygo Muniz’s goal-bound volley was decisively deflected by Aina, and Sasa Lukic’s shot narrowly missed the target, giving both teams a point.
Pereira: The relegation battle is a marathon, not a sprint
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira told Sky Sports:
“I’m very happy for the players because they gave their all. I’m also happy for the supporters. They tried to help us until the end.”
“In my opinion, I just told them this is not a speed race, it’s a marathon to the end, because of course today we had a chance to get three points, but next game we have another chance to get three points.”
“It’s the spirit. It’s not because you play home or away. The spirit has to be about getting points, fighting and competing to win games.
“In football, sometimes it’s difficult to control the result. But you can control what you do on the pitch, whether you give it your all to win or show the spirit to win the game. I’m happy for them and I’m proud of them because they did everything they could to win the game.”
“I think it’s going to be a tough game until the end. I think the decision will come at the end. I hope we can get points by then and get out of the relegation zone.”
“Because the teams that compete with us, Tottenham, West Ham and Leeds, have good teams. And we have to compete mentally and be ready to fight until the end.”
Silva: A clean sheet is a good sign
Fulham manager Marco Silva told Sky Sports:
“The first half was very balanced. We didn’t have any chances, but we had a great chance from a set piece. We had a big chance from Calvin. It was a game where we probably needed a goal from either team to open up the game.
“We had the ball in a dangerous area, but in the first half we had space and our inspiration and decision-making in the moment was not at the level to create chances.
“Then in the second half it was a bit more of a broken game. The conditions and the weather created different scenarios for the game. It was a close game. After the offside and other penalties there were different emotions in the game and from that moment both teams were trying to win the game.”
“It’s always a good sign when you can keep a clean sheet. That’s something we’ve missed in many moments of the season.”
Luck is not on Forest’s side as the same problems continue.
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:
It feels like a broken record just because Nottingham Forest continued to struggle in front of goal.
This wasn’t as bad as the 35 and 22 unrewarded shots against Wolves and FC Midtjylland respectively, but it was yet another 11 wasted shots. It could have been so different.
It was about fine margins. The offside penalty that cost Ndoye a valuable goal was difficult to spot with the naked eye.
“This is where we don’t give the striker an advantage. You see, where does he get an advantage?” Jamie Redknapp said afterwards. But that wasn’t the only goal.
On any other day, Ola Aina would be celebrating a life goal. Instead, he had to watch his incredible strike cannon hit the crossbar. If Ndoye had delayed the first goal of the game by half a second, he would have given his team a penalty.
Of course, there are still question marks over how clinical Vitor Pereira’s side will be. And rightly so. But when luck isn’t on your side, it’s much harder to gain momentum. Especially when you’re fighting in the air at the bottom of the table.
