Burnley 1-2 Nottingham Forest: Chris Wood delighted with final day double against his former team at Turf Moor

Nuno Espirito Santo has admitted that keeping Nottingham Forest in the Premier League drove him to drink.

There was an undeniable irony in Forest receiving a helping hand from VAR at precisely the time in the campaign when it didn’t really matter.

These purveyors of the persecution complex have been the fiercest critics of embattled football video officials this season, so perhaps Stockley Park saw the funny side of riding to the rescue of their navel-gazing foe in what, due to the Luton defeat, became a dead rubber where the visitors could have lost by a cricket score and still won a third consecutive season of top-flight football.

The City Ground’s thank you card is likely to get lost in the message, unlike the massively misguided missive launched after last month’s defeat at Everton, a blind public tantrum that quickly installed Forest as the exact opposite of each. favorite team.

Despite a four-point deduction for financial irregularities, Forest finished six points clear with a modest score of 32. Espirito Santo led a successful rearguard action after replacing Steve Cooper just before Christmas, and he admitted: “It’s been a difficult season. and it’s nice to finish on a high note. Now that we all have the chance to enjoy this result, I’m going to take a day off and have a couple of beers.

Chris Wood scored a brace against his former team to cap Nottingham Forest’s survival

The striker’s goals proved crucial in ensuring Forest finished above the drop zone. He scored his 16th Premier League goal of the season

Nuno Espirito Santo successfully guided his team to another season of Premier League football

“It’s the first time as a manager that we’ve joined a club mid-season so it’s a new experience and it hasn’t been easy so to retain our Premier League status is very happy.”

Chris Wood had already benefited from some benign Burnley defending as the New Zealander broke the deadlock with a tap-in at the far post after just 72 seconds.

His celebrations for doubling the advantage in the first quarter of an hour with his 14th league goal of the campaign were cut short by an assistant flag for offside, and it looked like it was a formality that the decision would be confirmed by the routine VAR check.

To the surprise of almost everyone inside Turf Moor, the decision was overturned with Wood’s nail judged to be slightly in play as he redirected a Ryan Yates shot past Arijanet Muric. Forest’s official X account remained silent in its praise of the technology.

Already relegated Burnley were in holiday mode as they prepared for life in the Championship next season. They bounced straight back into the top flight under Vincent Kompany last year, but will need to improve on that listless display to cope with the relentless grind of a 46-game second division campaign.

Josh Cullen kicked the ball in the next to reduce the deficit at Turf Moor on Sunday afternoon

Vincent Kompany’s team ends the campaign in 19th place, eight points behind Forest, 17th.

They only began to pose a threat after going two goals down and belatedly pulled one back thanks to Josh Cullen’s deflected effort from outside the area 18 minutes from time.

Kompany said: “We were punished for two moments of slacking off, but we kept fighting and gave ourselves a chance to get the result in the end. If Nuno drinks three beers, I will only have one because there is a lot of work ahead of us to be ready for next season.