Nottingham Forest cruised to a 3-0 victory over Wolves at Molineux, marking their sixth consecutive win in a remarkable run of form.
Nuno Espirito Santo masterminded the victory against his former club, deploying a sharp counter-attacking strategy that left Vitor Pereira’s Wolves side struggling to respond.
Despite Wolves’ recent improvement under Pereira, they were no match for a confident and in-form Forest side.
Morgan Gibbs-White opened the scoring with a composed finish just seven minutes in, earning praise from Jamie Carragher for his performance.
Chris Wood added a second before the break, netting his 13th goal of the 2024/25 season after being set up by Callum Hudson-Odoi. Taiwo Awoniyi capped off the night with his first goal of the campaign, sealing another impressive result for Forest.
Jeff Stelling shares verdict on big VAR call in Wolves vs Forest:
Controversy arose during the match when VAR was called into question once again. With Forest leading 1-0, an Ola Aina cross appeared to strike Rayan Ait-Nouri’s arm in the box. However, VAR chose not to recommend an on-field review to referee Peter Bankes, sparking outrage.
Jeff Stelling voiced his frustration on X, describing the decision as: “One of the worst decisions I’ve seen all season!!”
While the missed penalty call didn’t ultimately affect the outcome, many felt it was a clear and obvious error that should have warranted further scrutiny.
Handball law needs rectifying for the sake of world football:
The incident reignited debate about the handball law, which continues to cause controversy in football. Though this decision wasn’t the worst Forest have faced, the suggestion that Ait-Nouri’s arm was in a natural position seemed questionable at best.
The Premier League later issued a statement claiming the player’s arm was in a natural position.
However, replays suggested otherwise, showing Ait-Nouri attempting to move his arm out of the way but failing to do so in time.
From a real-time perspective, the incident looked like a clear penalty, and critics argue that a team from the league’s traditional big six might have seen the decision reviewed more thoroughly.
Fortunately for Forest, the missed call didn’t impact the result. Nevertheless, incidents like this highlight the need for clarity and consistency in applying the handball law. For the integrity of the game, it’s an issue that football’s governing bodies must address.
