“I’ve been trying for 4 years” – Nottingham Forest star jokes about goalscoring frustration

Nottingham Forest defender Murillo is now into his fourth Premier League season, and the whole thing still seems slightly surreal to him.

At 24, he has already played far more senior football in England than he ever did in Brazil. Forest have become home, even if adapting to life there included something as basic as learning to drive on the other side of the road.

More importantly, Murillo believes his football has changed considerably since leaving Corinthians. Different managers, different ideas and the constant evolution of the Premier League have forced him to keep adapting.

And while Forest’s results haven’t been especially kind recently, he doesn’t think they tell the full story.

Murillo says Forest are moving in the right direction

Speaking in an exclusive interview with ESPN Brazil, Murillo described his time in England as a “dream come true”.

“I think it’s a dream fulfilled. Four seasons in the Premier League, for me the most difficult league in the world,” he said.

“I feel very fulfilled, very happy, but I believe it’s only the beginning of a lot more history to come.”

He also credited Corinthians for giving his career its initial push, although moving abroad changed his perspective.

“I’ve been learning a lot and changing every year, every moment, because football keeps updating every year and it makes you change as well.”

“If you don’t change, you get left behind. Especially when you change manager, you have to adapt to the way of playing.”

That has been especially relevant at Forest recently. Murillo believes the team have shown clear progress over their last four or five matches, even if the results haven’t reflected it.

“People who only see the results will say, ‘Nottingham must not be doing good work’, but it’s completely the opposite,” he explained.

He pointed to the team’s physical numbers and said Forest rank among the Premier League’s best in several areas. The problem, in his view, is much simpler.

“We’re lacking a little bit in the final third, not scoring the goals, because we create a lot of chances,” Murillo said.

He claimed Forest had created around 60 chances across their previous four matches.

The Arsenal game was his obvious example. Murillo felt Forest competed on equal terms with one of the league’s strongest sides, only to come away without the result their performance deserved.

“We’re creating good chances, we’re improving, but I think now we have to start creating good results.”

Premier League keeps reminding him about those nearly-goals

Murillo’s own attempts to improve Forest’s finishing record have produced a slightly different problem. He has become very good at nearly scoring ridiculous goals. The Premier League itself has noticed.

“What annoyed me most was when the Premier League posted Murillo’s seven nearly-great goals,” he joked.

“I thought, ‘Man, I’ve been here for four years trying to score an incredible goal and I can’t do it.'”

That one recent effort against Arsenal particularly hurt.

“When I got there to finish, I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never got to this part before.’ Then when I hit it, I thought, ‘God, help me.'”

The ball went just wide. Murillo already knew what was coming next.

“I thought the Premier League would post it and say, ‘Another nearly-great goal from Murillo.'”

Four years into life at Nottingham Forest, then, plenty has changed. One thing hasn’t… That spectacular goal is still refusing to go in.