In the closing stages of TNT Sports’ coverage of Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 victory against Manchester United, there was clearly a disagreement between the commentators about who should be awarded man of the match.
Co-commentator Ally McCoist went for winger Anthony Elanga, who scored the game’s only goal after a superb dribble from his own half. Commentator Darren Fletcher seemed to think it should be midfielder Ryan Yates — and it was Yates, rather than Elanga, who was interviewed immediately after full time.
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The common credit given to Yates in recent months is that he ‘epitomises’ the Forest side. In a sense, he does, because few thought Yates would survive several rounds of Forest recruitment and still be commanding a place in the side. But in another, partly for that reason, he’s an outlier.
Yates is a no-nonsense, energetic midfielder. This Forest side has some of those qualities, but they are also about lots of talented technical players sacrificing themselves for the team, spending long periods on the back foot and changing their position regularly. In that respect, Elanga, as much as anyone, epitomises Forest.
This is Elanga’s best season and last night’s goal will have been particularly sweet given it came against the side who discarded him. Elanga was briefly Manchester United’s brightest spark in the otherwise disastrous Ralf Rangnick era. His speed and tactical intelligence made him a useful option from the wing, although at that stage, he probably lacked defensive awareness and an efficiency in the final third to mark him out as a top-class player.
But he’s improved in both respects and Forest suits his style much better. Elanga unashamedly rates himself as the fastest player in the Premier League and last night’s goal was the perfect example. Yates, fittingly, got the assist with a simple headed clearance, with Elanga pouncing on the loose ball first.
This was his first touch, midway inside his own half…
… and this was the final touch, on the edge of the opposition box.
“I can’t believe I get an assist for that,” laughed Yates after the game. “It was just a header from the six-yard box. But he deserves (the man of the match award). His work rate off the ball, that side of his game has come on no end. He’s just a dream for a midfielder, especially when sitting in that mid-low block. On the transitions, you can just give him the ball and he does the rest.”
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The victory was reminiscent of Forest’s 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day. That game also featured an early Elanga goal on the break before Forest sat deep for long periods without ever seeming particularly under pressure.
This is an unashamedly counter-attacking team and scoring first is vital. Opponents presumably worked that out midway through the campaign, yet Forest have kept doing it. They’ve scored first in 23 of their 30 matches, four more than any other side.
Elanga’s goal came when he was playing on the right flank, which is standard procedure for this season but different from how Forest have played in recent weeks. In both the 1-0 victory over Manchester City and the 4-2 win at Ipswich Town, Elanga was fielded as a second striker alongside Chris Wood. Forest’s third goal at Ipswich was the best example of how that system worked, with a simple long ball aimed for Wood…
… actually flying just over his head, with Elanga running off the big man…
… and going in behind to score. If this week’s strike was a classic goal from a winger, the goal against Ipswich was a classic goal from a second striker.
Nuno Espirito Santo deserves great credit for using his attacking players in the right positions at the right times this season. Forest’s most impressive win is still probably the 1-0 victory at Anfield in September — they are the only side to defeat Liverpool in this season’s Premier League — and that came with a very different approach.
Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who had both begun the season in good form, were omitted from the start, with Nuno favouring Nicolas Dominguez and Elliot Anderson. It felt like Forest were using four central midfielders as they focused on nullifying Liverpool.
But when the game opened up, Nuno introduced Elanga and Hudson-Odoi to offer proper width. It paid off for the breakaway goal, with Elanga roaring down the right…
… then switching play to the opposite winger…
… and Hudson-Odoi bending in his trademark goal.
Even last night, Elanga played three roles in one game. Having started on the right in a 4-2-3-1, Nuno’s switch to a 5-4-1 shortly before half-time meant him playing slightly higher down the right.
And at the start of the second half, Nuno switched again to a 3-4-1-2, with Elanga up front alongside Taiwo Awoniyi and Morgan Gibbs-White in the No 10 role.
Elanga’s versatility has become a talking point in his native Sweden, with national coach Jon Dahl Tomasson fully aware of his ability to play various roles. “He’s played to the left, to the right, as a striker, and in a free role,” he said.
“So he could play as one of the strikers, and playing as one of the wing-backs could also be an option depending on the team we’re playing against; if we’re playing in the opposition half, you’re almost like a winger.”
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That wing-back role might prove to be Elanga’s future with his national side, who have an unusually extensive collection of attacking talent but are short in defensive positions.
For his club, Elanga seems at home in a counter-attacking side, regardless of his role. “We’ve probably got the lowest possession in the league,” he said after Tuesday’s win. “It’s a different type of football, but it’s important for a player to be able to play a different type of football.
“We’ve got the mobility. I can roam to the front, I can play in behind, or play on the left. We’ve played different systems: five at the back, four at the back, three at the back. Every player can play every position.”
For all the rightful talk of Forest’s battling qualities, their organisation in various systems has been crucial and should prove very handy in next season’s Champions League.
