Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo insisted he is not looking at the Premier League table despite his side’s fine start to the season.
Forest earned their fourth win of the campaign against East Midlands rivals Leicester City last time out, with Chris Wood’s brace helping them to a 3-1 win at the King Power Stadium.
The Tricky Trees currently sit eighth in the early-season standings, but that matters little to Nuno, who expects further improvement from his side in the coming months to fully realise what he believes is their true potential.
"We played a good game, very stable, confident and solid. Our organisation was good, I am delighted," Nuno told Sky Sports.
"It is not about the table, what is more important is to see our fans celebrate like they did today. What is important is how we do things, how we continue to progress.
"It is the commitment, we as a group want to progress, become better and play good football.
"They (the players) have the ability, we need to make them stronger so we can build on it." They deserve it since last season was so this is a moment for them to enjoy.”
West Ham, meanwhile, needed an injury-time penalty from Jarrod Bowen to earn a 2-1 victory over Manchester United, a result that would lead to Erik ten Hag’s dismissal.
It’s been an inconsistent start to the season for the Hammers, though, who have managed 11 points from their first nine games under new manager, Julen Lopetegui.
But Sunday’s match-winner Bowen said that their result against United must be the catalyst for their campaign, with aspirations of qualifying for Europe again this term.
"It needs to be because this season we have been in positions where we have won 4-1 against Ipswich, then gone and lost 4-1 to Tottenham,” Bowen said.
"It's about consistently winning games and, if you want to be successful, you have to see it as a building block."
Max Kilman echoed his captain’s thoughts, saying: “It's been a tough start, but we showed a lot of resilience and a lot of character.
“We’ve seen with the second half performance how we pushed on and we've got a great result against a top team.
“All the boys who came on have done a great job and changed the game for us and that's what we need, the whole squad to push us on.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nottingham Forest – Chris Wood
Wood has scored seven Premier League goals this season, already the most by a Forest player in their first 10 games in a single campaign in the competition.
Overall, he’s scored 22 Premier League goals for the Tricky Trees, with only Bryan Roy netting more (24). The New Zealander has also netted more goals (seven) against the Hammers than any other side he has faced in the top-flight.
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen’s winning penalty against United last time out was his 78th Premier League goal involvement for West Ham (46 goals, 32 assists), with only Michail Antonio (101) and Mark Noble (82) registering more for the Hammers (Paolo Di Canio also 78).
The England international has also created more chances (22) this season than any of his team-mates, with midfielder Tomas Soucek in second on just nine.
MATCH PREDICTION: NOTTINGHAM FOREST WIN
Forest have won both of their Premier League home games against West Ham since their return to the division in 2022. They last won more consecutively against the Hammers between 1969 and 1978 (four).
The Tricky Trees have won their last two Premier League games – they last won three in a row in the top-flight in May 1999.
Only Liverpool (five) have conceded fewer Premier League goals than Nottingham Forest this season (seven). It’s their fewest goals conceded at this stage of a league season since 2014-15 (seven in the Championship) and fewest in the top-flight since 1978-79 (seven).
West Ham, meanwhile, have won two of their last three Premier League games (L1), as many as they had in their previous 12. They’re looking to win back-to-back league games for the first time since March.
However, the Hammers have kept a clean sheet in just one of their last 24 Premier League games played outside of London, conceding in each of their last 15 since a 4-0 win at Bournemouth in April 2023.
West Ham have also lost only two of their last four Premier League games against Nottingham Forest (W2), having lost just one of their previous 15 against them in the top-flight (W7 D7).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nottingham Forest – 41.4%
Draw – 26.7%
West Ham – 31.9%
Guardiola believes De Bruyne will be difficult to replace at Man City
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola knows it will be difficult to find a replacement for midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, should the Belgian depart next year.
The playmaker joined City in 2015 and has played a key role in their trophy-laden spell since then, but he will be out of contract at the end of the season.
De Bruyne's season has been hampered by injury, but the 33-year-old started his first Premier League game since August as City returned to winning ways after seven winless games against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
And Guardiola could not stress enough the impact De Bruyne has had on the club.
"I'm not involved in it," the City boss said, when quizzed about contract negotiations with De Bruyne.
"I would like to have him 23 years old and sign a contract for 10 years, this is what I'd like, we'll see."
De Bryune signed for City a year before Guardiola's arrival and has won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five EFL Cups while also helping them to their first-ever Champions League triumph during the 2022-23 season.
"There are players for whom the impact on the legacy of this club will be eternal, will be forever," said Guardiola.
"Of course, it is not easy to replace [them], but as a club, we have to find in the moment, if it's going to happen, we have to find the best way."
Before the game against Forest, Guardiola had to brush aside suggestions of a rift between himself and De Bruyne.
"People say I've got a problem with Kevin. Do you think I like to not play with Kevin? No, I don't want Kevin to play?" he said.
"The guy who has the most talent in the final third, I don't want it? I have a personal problem with him after nine years together?
"He's delivered to me the biggest success to this club, but he's been five months injured [last season] and two months injured [this season].
"He's 33 years old. He needs time to find his best, like last season, step by step. He'll try to do it and feel better. I'm desperate to have his best."
'Milan shown lack of respect' - Fonseca bemoans refereeing in Atalanta loss
Paulo Fonseca thinks referee Federico La Penna showed AC Milan "a lack of respect" during their 2-1 defeat by Atalanta.
Ademola Lookman's late strike settled the contest at Gewiss Stadium, where Alvaro Morata cancelled out Charles De Ketelaere's earlier effort.
While Atalanta climbed to the Serie A summit following a ninth straight win, Milan saw their seven-game unbeaten streak across all competitions come to an end.
However, Fonseca suggested his side were on the wrong end of questionable officiating, including for the hosts' first goal, where he felt De Ketelaere pushed Theo Hernandez while climbing to head home.
"I am not afraid to speak the truth," he told Sky Sport Italia. "I have always respected the work of the referees. I realise they have a difficult job, but every week, it is always the same.
"The way the referee officiated throughout this evening was a lack of respect for Milan.
"The first goal, [there] was a clear foul, there is absolutely no doubt. The way the referee officiated throughout was against Milan, there is no doubt."
Although, Fonseca acknowledged poor defending from set-pieces proved costly for his side.
"At the end of the day, we lost the game on two set-plays," he added. "The first half was very good, but in the second, we didn't have that link with the strikers.
"I think we deserved more tonight, it was tough to accept conceding two goals from dead-ball situations."
Meanwhile, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini revelled in his side's victory, which lifted them to the top of the table and already had their supporters chanting songs about winning the Scudetto.
"Naturally, this is a great victory against a team with undoubtedly very talented players among the best in the league, and we thoroughly deserved the win," he said.
"The people of Bergamo have their feet firmly on the ground, so don't take anything for granted. If we were still up there after another 20 games, it'd be different, but as things stand, it is an expression of joy and a deserved one, too."
Luis Enrique has 'nothing to complain about' despite PSG's stalemate with Auxerre
Luis Enrique insists he has "nothing to complain about" after Paris Saint-Germain were held to a goalless draw by Auxerre.
The Ligue 1 leaders dropped points for the second game running after an inspired performance by Auxerre goalkeeper Donovan Leon at Stade de l'Abbe Deschamps.
Fabian Ruiz saw a first-half goal chalked off for offside as PSG failed to score in a league game for the first time this season.
Their cause was not aided by Leon, who made 11 saves during the match - the highest tally for a goalkeeper who has kept a clean sheet in the French top flight.
Nevertheless, Luis Enrique focused on the positives of his side's performance against Nantes, who have only lost one of their seven league games on home soil this term.
"It's clear that the result does not reflect what happened on the pitch, but we were up against the second-best team at home. We have created many chances to score," he told reporters.
"Obviously, the unfinished business is scoring goals, which is what wins games, but I have nothing to complain about my team. We have tried until the end, all we have to do is keep on trying.
"This is a team that scores a lot of goals and creates a lot of chances. If we are unlucky, I will never criticise my players for missing an opportunity to score. I just encourage them to keep building confidence and improve."
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