Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has seemingly attempted to defend Evangelos Marinakis after the club’s owner stormed the pitch at the end of Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Leicester City.
On the back of Chelsea losing at Newcastle United earlier in the day, Forest had the opportunity to return to the top five of the Premier League table.
Despite going behind to an early Conor Coady goal, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood put Forest in front and seemingly on course for victory until Facundo Buonanotte‘s late leveller.
As a result, Forest remain in seventh position and their Champions League qualification hopes are now out of their hands with two matches remaining.
What do you think Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis said to Nuno Espirito Santo after the club’s draw against Leicester? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Et4GoRBkTx
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Nuno reacts to Marinakis confrontation
After the game, Marinakis made a surprise appearance on the pitch and expressed his frustration towards Nuno, much to the disbelief of the club’s fanbase and the media.
Nuno revealed that it was down to the confusion over a scenario that played out involving Taiwo Awoniyi with Nuno making his final substitution when the forward was being treated for an injury.
The Portuguese says that there was “miscommunication” over the issue, Awoniyi not in a position to continue but was forced into playing the eight minutes of added-on time.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Nuno said: “Football is emotions. Today there were more than 30,000 people in the ground with their own emotions. It was a tough moment, after the situation with [Taiwo Awoniyi] we had one man less after a misunderstanding.
“It’s difficult to control emotions when we had so much expectation on a day like this.”
When asked on the scenario, he added: “Yes, it was because of that. It was a misunderstanding, a miscommunication. I’m sorry, I cannot go much further.
“It’s based on emotions, you cannot make a big deal out of it. It happens and it will happen again. With the emotions today, it’s understandable.”
What now?
Although Forest’s share of the spoils with Leicester guaranteed a top-seven finish and European qualification, they are eager to earn a surprise appearance in the Champions League.
Forest conclude the campaign with a trip to West Ham United and a mammoth showdown with Chelsea at the City Ground. Winning both games would ensure that a sixth-placed finish is the lowest that they could end the campaign.
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