Wood at the double as Nottingham Forest beat Leicester to go fifth
Forest are now unbeaten in seven consecutive Premier League away trips after claiming an impressive victory in the East Midlands match-up at the King Power Stadium.
High on confidence having overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Southampton in their last league match, Leicester began proceedings on the front foot, seeing more of the ball in the opening passages.
However, that promising start counted for little as the Foxes shot themselves in the foot, first giving the ball away when Facundo Buonanotte attempted to dribble out of trouble, then failing to adequately clear their lines as James Justin presented Ryan Yates with a shooting opportunity.
Local lad Yates gratefully picked his spot, side-footing low into the corner beyond Mads Hermansen to put the visitors ahead.
That lead lasted just seven minutes thanks to Harry Winks, who exchanged several passes as he progressed up the field, driving into the corner where he dug out a first-time cross for Jamie Vardy to prod home.
Having failed to hold onto their Premier League clean sheet until half-time for just the third time this season, Forest looked to restore their lead through Nicolás Domínguez, whose close-range strike was magnificently denied by Hermansen’s knee.
An open-ended first half eventually ended all square, with the Leicester goalkeeper playing a big role as he thwarted Callum Hudson-Odoi’s effort from range late in the half.
After several impressive first-half saves, it took just two minutes for Forest to find a way past the Danish shot-stopper after the restart.
Wood has been in excellent goalscoring form this season, and he found the net for a third consecutive league match when he received Elliot Anderson’s pass with his back to goal, taking one touch before swivelling to curl inside the far post.
At this stage, Forest were carving out plenty of chances, and after Hudson-Odoi’s swerving shot hit the post, the Foxes fell further behind as Wout Faes failed to deal with a long ball, inadvertently allowing Wood to nod over a stranded Hermansen – his seventh league goal of the season.
Yates then had a chance to put the game to bed when he skied an effort inside the box, but ultimately, it made little difference to the result.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s touchline ban has seemingly had little effect on the in-form visitors, who climb to a lofty fifth in the table after a first pair of consecutive head-to-head victories in 19 years.
Meanwhile, Steve Cooper’s Leicester remain 14th for the time being, failing to make it three successive Premier League victories for the first time since 2021, with the 4-0 win for Foxes in their last home head to head – against Cooper’s Forest – now a distant memory for Leicester fans.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest)
