Nottingham Forest are struggling, admits Nuno after Brentford defeat

Nottingham Forest are “struggling” says boss Nuno Espirito Santo after their Champions League hopes suffered another blow with a 2-0 defeat at home to Brentford.

Forest could have moved up to third in the Premier League with a win but goals from Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa inflicted a damaging loss, which leaves them sixth.

After their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City, a third league defeat in four games leaves Forest in a real fight for a top-five finish.

Nuno said: “We don’t see it [pressure] but we feel it.

“The explanation for that we have to find in ourselves. But I don’t see (pressure), I see belief, desire and commitment.

“But the reality is we are struggling in some aspects of our game – focus and determination to be practical and solve the situations that are simple to solve.

“(To get back to ourselves) is the basic option we have. We don’t have to change, we have to go back and find our version.

“It’s a bad night, it’s a bad game” 😳

Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo says they are disappointed after their defeat to Brentford 🫤 pic.twitter.com/Ex3hBWUxFm

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 1, 2025

“We have been clear and spoken many times about how we play. Our basic is being compact and solid, we don’t give away chances.

“We are a team that always covers, so our opponents have to do much more to achieve what they achieved today. With all respects to Brentford, it was too easy.

“We have been talking about how we are as a team and defensively we don’t allow too many situations.

“We have had a lot of clean sheets. This is the basic pillar we have, but today it was the other way around.

“We credit Brentford, but I believe with a better approach we could have solved the situations.”

Brentford were worthy victors, stretching their unbeaten run to four games and they still have European ambitions of their own, sitting two points off eighth, which could be enough to secure Europa Conference League action.

“I think we were in a position where there’s three teams above us that we need to finish above. So that’s a challenge,” boss Thomas Frank said.

“There’s four games left, we have a chance of finishing eighth, which would be the best position in the club’s history in the Premier League.

“So that’ll be a fantastic achievement, but it depends the perfect run-in and it demands that we do what we’ve done so well over the last four years – laser-like focus on the next game.

“Some of them are playing the best football of their careers.”