There have been many Brazilian forwards who would have been proud of the instincts shown by Murillo, when he stretched out a boot to redirect a low shot from Neco Williams and beyond the reach of Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
It might have been a cathartic moment for the Brazilian defender who, in just his second game for Nottingham Forest in 2023, had come within a whisker of scoring what would have been one of the most memorable goals in the club’s modern history at Selhurst Park. That was a rampaging, charging run down the pitch, that took him beyond a clutch of helpless defenders, before he was denied at the last by Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
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On Monday, there was only a single jabbing touch. There is an irony to the fact that a player who frequently, and spectacularly, tries his luck from long range, has scored his only two Forest goals via a close range header (against Newcastle in November) and an instinctive flick.
“I think he wanted to touch the ball, not put it in. But it went in — so many times goals go in like that. Normally he tries to shoot from 40 yards but it is easier from inside the box,” said manager Nuno Espirito Santo in his press conference.
It wasn’t a pretty goal, but it was certainly a precious one which earned a valuable point.
Victory in south London would have guaranteed European football of some kind, ensuring Forest could not finish lower than seventh. That was not to be, but the Champions League dreams that Nuno and his players have inspired during this already remarkable season are still there to be fulfilled.
Forest have three games left to decide their fate and you increasingly get the feeling that moments like this, the ‘small margins’ as several former Forest managers would have called them, will have a massive impact.
There were other telling moments too, on an eventful evening at Selhurst Park.
There was the penalty call that saw Matz Sels punished for bringing down Tyrick Mitchell, following a VAR review. Sels was subsequently one of eight Forest players booked by referee Andy Madley on a night that was rarely an aggressive contest. It was the highest number of yellow cards picked up by any top flight side this season and the most Forest have ever had in the Premier League.
Thankfully it will not lead to any suspensions, although there was concern over Murillo who, only 17 minutes after scoring, limped off the pitch with what looked like a hamstring injury.
Murillo limps off at Selhurst Park (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
The prospect of losing one half of what has become a talismanic central defensive partnership, with Nikola Milenkovic, will not be a welcome one. The duo have started all but one of the 35 Premier League games Forest have played and if the 22-year-old is absent for any length of time, it would leave a significant void. “Let’s assess him. I don’t know exactly what he has done. Hopefully it is nothing. He is a big, big important player for us,” said Nuno.
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Whether he is available to face Leicester City on Sunday or not, this may have been one of Murillo’s most significant contributions in a Forest shirt, since he joined from Corinthians in August 2023. Because we are at the stage where every point matters.
All eyes in Nottingham will be on the result when fourth-placed Newcastle host fifth-placed Chelsea at 12pm on Sunday, before Forest kick off against Leicester at the City Ground at 2.15pm. If either side wins at St James’ Park, Forest would have the chance to move above the losers with a victory over their relegated opponents.
If it ends in a draw, then victory would see Forest move level on points with both sides, who currently sit on 63 points, two ahead of Nuno’s side. With Forest’s goal difference (12) significantly worse than Newcastle and Chelsea’s (both 21), avoiding defeat to Palace could easily prove to be a landmark moment.
It was significant in another sense, as it also saw Forest come back from behind to earn a point. Forest had previously lost eight of the nine games in which they had gone behind in the Premier League this season, with the only exception being the 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
Nuno Espirito Santo was satisfied with a point at Palace (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Murillo’s goal was the 10th time Forest have scored from a corner — only Arsenal (13) and Palace (11) have more — which is in contrast to the last two seasons, when set pieces had been their Achilles’ heel at both ends. They have evolved rapidly under Nuno.
It was also a big day for Morgan Gibbs-White, who started his 100th Premier League game for Forest — becoming the ninth player to do so and also the youngest, aged 25 years and 98 days. That is a reflection of the 23 years Forest spent outside of the top flight, prior to promotion in 2022, but also of the influence that the attacking midfielder continues to have.
That two-decade exile is worth remembering now as Forest try and secure European football for the first time since 1996. This is a club that has been more used to scrambling around in the Football League, or more recently fighting relegation from the top flight, than trying to secure a golden ticket into continental competition.
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But, with winnable games against Leicester and West Ham to come, and a final-day home meeting with Chelsea in what could be a effectively prove to be a Champions League play-off game, that remarkable prize is within reach.
Now they just need to seize the moment.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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