It felt like a big game, it felt like one where we needed the team and the fans to come together to beat a significantly stronger side. The fans were ready - and the players showed they were too.
Building on a fantastic start, Forest got a result they desperately needed, in a performance that showed solidity, tactical intelligence and counter attacking excitement. It’s exactly what I like to see from my team.
Let’s dig into how the result came about, and some of the tweaks that Glasner made to the system and personnel leading up to the game, and during the game too.
The Wide Centre Backs
A clear tactical plan under Glasner regardless of the opposition is to ask the wide centre backs to be brave and push out of the line to pick up players in space. This is a huge change for Forest’s existing centre backs, considering for the best part of the last 4 seasons Forest’s main plan has been to sit back and soak up pressure.
There’s been plenty of issues with this so far this season - particularly in pre-season where obviously the stakes aren’t as high - but Glasner will tolerate mistakes as long as he feels the players are trying to implement his desired plan.
Jair Cunha & Murillo were so important in yesterday’s victory. Man City’s
shape in their build up pushes Gvardiol high and narrow from his left-back position, with Enzo Fernandez taking up a similar spot on the other side. From the very beginning of the game, you can see both of Forest’s wide centre backs implementing this plan.
3 minutes in and Jair Cunha is jumping out of the line - he’s about to do it again 2 minutes later and create a fantastic individual goal. It’s not the first time this season he’s created these kind of opportunities either. Throughout the season I’ve felt he’s been the centre back adjusting to the system the best, and he’s been fully deserving of keeping his spot ahead of the unfortunate Ousmane Diomande.
The narrow shape from Forest’s midfield against the better sides in the Premier League is something we’ve become familiar with under Glasner, but this is different to previous Forest sides. They will go high with far more regularity and purpose.
Jair does his job really well here and does what he couldn’t do against Ipswich a couple of weeks ago, as he shows brilliant composure to ‘freeze’ Guehi. That can’t happen though without the attacking runs of Schlager, McAtee & Delap.
It wasn’t just Jair Cunha though, it was Murillo too. Despite being 2 goals up at half-time, Glasner didn’t want the plan to change and the players tried to make that happen for as long as they could.