West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest: Visitors stay alive in Champions League race

Nottingham Forest kept their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League alive with a battling 2-1 win at West Ham, as Morgan Gibbs-White and Nikola Milenkovic scored.

Forest entered Sunday's game knowing a defeat would end their hopes of a top-five finish, while even a draw would make them huge outsiders ahead of the final matchday of the Premier League season.

After an open start saw Matz Sels deny Tomas Soucek and Morgan Gibbs-White volley straight at Alphonse Areola, the visitors were gifted an 11th-minute opener.

Areola also beat away a drive from Chris Wood, but the Frenchman was at fault for Forest's opener. He got nowhere near enough power on his pass towards Guido Rodriguez, allowing Gibbs-White to steal possession and finish into an open goal.

Forest's players celebrated by holding up the shirt of striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who underwent abdominal surgery earlier this week following a nasty collision with the post in a 2-2 draw with Leicester City.

Chris Wood had two chances late in the first half, including when he nodded against the outside of the post from a corner, but Forest had a two-goal cushion in the 61st minute.

Milenkovic's fortuitous touch helped Anthony Elanga's free-kick into the far corner, with the goal confirmed following a six-minute VAR review for offside in a crowded penalty area.

West Ham toiled until the 86th minute, when Jarrod Bowen took a sensational touch with the outside of his boot before sending a thunderous volley past Sels, and they had one huge chance to level during 16 minutes of stoppage time.

Niclas Fullkrug's powerful header was pawed away by Sels, as Forest clung on for a huge win.

City and Newcastle could be out of Forest's reach by next Sunday, but a win over Chelsea and a slip-up from another of their rivals could yet bring Champions League football to the City Ground.

Data Debrief: Forest profit from West Ham error

For 86 minutes, this was cagey, hard-fought affair, though Bowen's stunner teed up a tense finish. 

Ultimately, West Ham were made to pay for a dire error from Areola, whose three errors leading to opposition goals this season are the most of any Irons player in a single Premier League campaign since Lukasz Fabianski in 2019-20 (also three).

Forest have now scored 17 goals from opposition errors in the Premier League this season – the most of any side across a single campaign in the competition since Chelsea in 2013-14 (21).

Gibbs-White, meanwhile, has scored in both of his last two Premier League games – as many strikes as he managed in his previous 16 appearances in the competition.
While Forest could yet gatecrash the top five, West Ham's campaign ends with a five-match winless run at the London Stadium (three draws, two losses), while this is the first time they have lost their final home game of a Premier League season since 2016-17.