Marinakis ‘proud’ of Forest manager Nuno despite pitch confrontation

LAST UPDATE | 19 hrs ago

NOTTINGHAM FOREST OWNER Evangelos Marinakis stormed onto the pitch to confront manager Nuno Espirito Santo after watching his side fumble Champions League qualification following a 2-2 draw with already-relegated Leicester.

Marinakis was seen emotionally remonstrating with Nuno after Facundo Buonanotte’s 81st-minute strike inflicted a possibly terminal blow to Forest’s hopes of finishing in the top five.

Nuno’s side looked certainties to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition at the start of April until a run of just one win in the last six which has left them in the last-chance saloon.

Marinakis later insisted he is “proud” of Nuno Espirito Santo despite storming onto the pitch to confront the manager.

There were unsavoury scenes, with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville saying the Portuguese should “negotiate his exit tonight”.

However, both Marinakis and Nuno say the Greek owner’s frustrations came because of a miscommunication between the bench and medical staff after an injury to striker Taiwo Awoniyi in the dying stages of the match.

Marinakis said in a statement: “Today is a day for celebration, because after 30 years Nottingham Forest is now guaranteed to be competing on the European stage once again, a promise I made to our supporters when we achieved promotion!

“With two more games to go in the Premier League, we must keep believing and keep dreaming, right to the final kick in the final game.

“We are extremely proud and close to Nuno and the team, and we must all celebrate the historic achievements of this season.

“Everybody – coaching staff, players, supporters and including myself – we were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo and the medical staff’s misjudgment on Taiwo’s ability to continue the game.

“This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club.

“Let’s all be grateful, passionate and keep on dreaming!”

Nuno laughed off Neville’s suggestions that he should quit and insisted Marinakis’ passion was the reason Forest are now challenging for Champions League football.

He said: “It is because of the owner and his passion that we are growing as a club. He pushes us. He wants us to be better,” he said of Marinakis, who served a five-match stadium ban earlier this season.

“It is his passion and desire to be a big club – 30,000 people felt the same today. For sure, many of them would go on the pitch and shake us down.

“Us as a club, we owe a lot to the Marinakis family.

“I am not going to comment too much. I have huge respect for Gary Neville, he is the coach who replaced me when I was sacked at Valencia. So he was a coach himself.

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“He knows what it is like to be on the touchline. All the rest, please allow me…I do not want to proceed about (talk of) the future.”

Asked whether he was comfortable being spoken to in such a way in a public arena, Nuno added: “I have been in football so many years as a player and as a coach.

“It is the passion and desire. The players feel it, we feel it and the fans feel it. We have to do better.”

Chris Wood’s 20th goal of the season put Forest on course to beat their East Midlands rivals, after Morgan Gibbs-White earlier cancelled out Conor Coady’s opener.

But Buonanotte had the final say, which saw owner Marinakis take umbrage with his manager in unsavoury scenes at the full-time whistle.

They are no longer in charge of their own destiny as even if they win their final two games, including a final-day meeting with Chelsea, it might not be enough unless Aston Villa, Manchester City or Newcastle drop points along the way.

The result does not change anything for Leicester, who are already condemned to the drop, but denting Forest’s ambitions will be sweet.

The hosts knew that victory would send them back into the top five following Chelsea’s defeat at Aston Villa and they started brightly, with Wood having two chances to put his side into an early lead.

First he hooked Neco Williams’ cross over the bar before, from a much better opportunity, could not keep a header down from Anthony Elanga’s inviting delivery.

Having been unable to make the breakthrough, the nerves began to increase and it got worse when Leicester took a 16th-minute lead.

A long throw fell to Bilal El Khannous on the edge of the area and his shot, which took a nick off Wood, was parried by Matz Sels, with Coady in position to head home the rebound.

But Forest’s response was excellent and they levelled nine minutes later.

Elanga sent in another wicked delivery, this time from a free-kick, and Gibbs-White nodded home at the near post for a vital equaliser.

Forest pressed for the lead and Wood missed another golden chance on the stroke of half-time.

Nicolas Dominguez’ powerful shot was parried by goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk and the New Zealand international had the goal at his mercy from the rebound but could not direct an instinctive header into the empty net.

The hosts continued the second half in the same vein and were knocking on the door, with Dominguez planting a free header straight at Stolarczyk.

They finally made the breakthrough in the 56th minute as Wood atoned for his earlier misses in style.

Gibbs-White was the creator with a delicious cross from the right which was begging to be headed home and Wood did not disappoint, with his diving effort finding the bottom corner.

Forest looked to be seeing it out until Buonanotte stuck the knife in in the 81st minute as he danced into the area and slotted into the corner.

Marinakis grabbed the headlines at full-time as the extent of Forest’s stumble hit home.

Palace hit Tottenham with a slick counter-attack after Pedro Porro had a shot blocked, with Sarr sent clear and able to see up Eze to rifle home for his 12th goal of the campaign.

Only Kinsky saves from Mateta and his own defender Kevin Danso prevented further punishment for Spurs, who did eventually produce a response as Wilson Odobert’s dangerous cross was followed up by a Pape Sarr header put well wide.

The return of Son after a month out lifted a subdued home crowd but only momentarily as Palace almost grabbed a third through Sarr before boos from the home supporters’ left met full-time.

Elsewhere, Europa League finalists Tottenham were brought back down to earth with a record-breaking Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace after a brace by Eberechi Eze in a 2-0 loss.

Spurs set up a European final with Manchester United on Thursday after they sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory over Bodo/Glimt, but Ange Postecoglou’s much-changed line-up slipped to a 20th league loss of the season.

It marks Tottenham’s worst-ever tally of defeats in the Premier League after they twice lost 19 fixtures in the 1993-94 and 2003-04 campaigns.

Perhaps of more concern to Postecoglou than another league reverse was a first-half injury to Dejan Kulusevski, but captain Son Heung-min did make his first appearance in a month following a foot issue.

It was a different story for Palace who warmed up for Saturday’s FA Cup final with three points after Eze tapped home on the stroke of half-time and added another – three minutes into the second period – to complete a league double over Tottenham.

Both teams have a final on the horizon and while Postecoglou made eight changes after victory in Bodo, Palace named arguably their strongest available line-up and had the ball in the net in the eighth minute.

Daniel Munoz was given aches of space down Spurs’ left-hand side and picked out Ismaila Sarr to tap home at the back post, but a VAR check followed and Jean-Philippe Mateta was adjudged to be fractionally offside by the halfway line.

The first injury scare of the afternoon occurred in the 13th minute when Kulusevski went down after he had a shot deflected wide – six minutes later and he had been replaced after another whack around his knee by Marc Guehi.

Palace had gone close again after Tottenham’s back-up goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky spilled a header by Munoz before Mathys Tel needed treatment for the hosts, but was able to continue.

Oliver Glasner watched his team continue to create opportunities, with Mateta denied by Kinsky before Munoz fired over via the crossbar.

After Sarr and Mateta had efforts blocked, Maxence Lacroix had a header disallowed from a corner after it hit the hand of captain Guehi on the way in.

It was a major let-off for Spurs but Palace finally went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Munoz again was played in and this time teed up Eze for a simple tap-in.

Postecoglou introduced Yves Bissouma at half-time and yet his first telling contribution was to let Eze run off him to make it 2-0.