Wolves coach Julen Lopetegui paid tribute to Nottingham Forest’s ‘fantastic’ quality and counter attacking threat following Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at the City Ground.
When you play this well, in the position Nottingham Forest find themselves in, two dropped points on home soil feel just that little bit more frustrating.
Steve Cooper’s side could – and possibly should – have put a three point gap between themselves and the relegation zone on the banks of the Trent. So Daniel Podence’s 83rd minute equaliser might just be one of those moments Forest fans look back on at the end of the season and wonder ‘what if?’.
Lopetegui, meanwhile, was delighted to see his Wolves side fight back; Brennan Johnson’s first-half opener cancelled out by that well-taken Podence finish.
Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui happy with a point at Nottingham Forest
“They scored with one counter attack. They are very strong in this way,” says the former Real Madrid boss.
“To get one point here in the end, when you analyse the match, is not a bad thing. In the second half, we took a lot of risks, and they had counter attacks to score the second, but we had to do it, and in the end fortunately we scored.
“We fought a lot, it’s not easy to play here, with this environment in this kind of match. They have very, very good players. They’ve invested a lot of money in this team.”
Nottingham Forest mustered 17 shots to Wolves’ eight, despite averaging only 27 per cent of the possession. There are now only two places and one point between Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Premier League table more congested than the London Underground at rush hour.
“We had three clear chances and they scored with the one they had,” Lopetegui adds. “This is one of the skills of the team. They have this quality, but in the second half we took a risk, they had counter attacks to make the second, fortunately they didn’t.
“And we scored a very good goal with Danny Podence. They have fantastic players on the pitch and have spirit, so we have to manage this.”
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