Tottenham Hotspur crumbled away from home. Son Heung-min (33, LAFC) returned but they still suffered a listless defeat.
Tottenham fell 0-3 to Nottingham Forest in the 2025-26 Premier League (PL) round 16 at the City Ground in Nottingham, England, on the 14th (Korea time).
With this defeat, Tottenham remained at 6 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses, with 22 points, dropping to 11th place. Meanwhile, Nottingham, which added three points at home, rose to 16th with 18 points (5 wins, 3 draws, 8 losses). Before this match they were 17th, just above the relegation zone, but they showed the mettle to easily beat Tottenham.
Tottenham beat Brentford 2-0 on the 7th, and on the 10th they defeated Slavia Prague 3-0 in the match attended by club legend Son Heung-min, running their official winning streak to two. However, as soon as Son left they suffered a heavy defeat, blowing away the momentum shift they had barely created.
Tottenham also bowed their heads after recording three straight defeats to Nottingham. They have not beaten them since a 3-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April last year. That match was the last Nottingham match in which Son Heung-min played. At the time Son Heung-min contributed to Tottenham's victory by providing an assist.
Tottenham operated a 4-2-3-1 formation. Richarlison, Kolo Muani-Saville Simons-Mohammed Kudus, Archie Gray-Rodrigo Bentancur, Djed Spence-Micky van de Ven-Christian Romero-Pedro Porro, Guilherme Vilaro started in the lineup.
Nottingham also deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation to counter. Igor Jezus, Callum Hudson-Odoi-Morgan Gibbs-White-Omari Hutchinson, Elliott Anderson-Ibrahim Sangare, Nico Williams-Murillo-Nikola Milenkovic-Nicolo Savona, John Victor made up the starting lineup.
Tottenham wobbled from the start. In the sixth minute of the first half Savona delivered an accurate cross from the right, and Sangare ran in to connect with a header. It was an attack Tottenham's defense could not react to, but the ball hit the left goalpost and bounced out.
Nottingham scored the opener. In effect Tottenham self-destructed. In the 28th minute of the first half, Gray, while involved in the build-up from the back, handled it carelessly and lost the ball under Sangare's pressure. Sangare, who collected the ball inside the box, did not get greedy and passed it to the side, and Hudson-Odoi slid it in easily.
Tottenham swallowed their disappointment. In the 33rd minute of the first half Gray tried to make up for his mistake with a sharp turning shot. But the shot was stopped by the goalkeeper. The first half ended with Nottingham leading 1-0.
Nottingham's momentum continued into the second half. In the fifth minute of the second half they added a second goal. Hudson-Odoi aimed for the corner with a bold right-footed curling shot from a somewhat long distance. It looked like a cross, but the ball sailed on, passed Vilaro and lodged in the net. It was the moment Hudson-Odoi achieved a spectacular multi-goal performance.
Tottenham, trapped, sought change by bringing on Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies and João Palhinha together in the 15th minute of the second half. But the third goal was also Nottingham's. In the 34th minute of the second half Sangare received Hudson-Odoi's pass and struck the net with a cannonball long-range shot. Hudson-Odoi recorded 2 goals and 1 assist, and Sangare recorded 1 goal and 2 assists.
Tottenham ultimately failed to open Nottingham's goal. Rather, Nottingham did not stop attacking for a fourth goal. In the 38th minute of the second half Hudson-Odoi aimed for a hat trick but did not score. The match ended as Tottenham's 0-3 heavy defeat.
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