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Anthony Elanga scored twice as Nottingham Forest earned a 4-2 home win over Ipswich Town to strengthen their hold on third place, moving one point behind second-placed Arsenal.

In Nuno Espirito Santo's 50th Premier League match in charge of Forest, Nikola Milenkovic got the first of three goals in six minutes before half-time with a fierce finish from inside the box.

Anthony Elanga then grabbed a brilliant brace to complete the first-half rout.

Forest’s solid defensive rearguard was eventually breached late on, Jens Cajuste neatly turning substitute Ryan Yates before curling the ball beyond Matz Sels.

The visitors restored their three-goal advantage five minutes later through Jota Silva, but the scoring was not done there, with George Hirst’s header restoring some pride for Ipswich late on.

The result moves Forest onto 54 points in third, while Ipswich stay in 18th, now nine points adrift of safety following Wolverhampton Wanderers’ win over Southampton.

How the match unfolded

Ipswich’s inability to clear from a Forest corner was ruthlessly punished in the 35th minute when Milenkovic rifled the ball home after Liam Delap’s poor attempt to head it away.

Two goals in four minutes at the end of the first half from Elanga put the result beyond doubt, with the Swede notching his first with a fine curling effort.

The Forest attacker then profited from some more slack Ipswich defending, racing onto Milenkovic’s long ball forward before finishing past Alex Palmer.

Kieran McKenna’s team improved after the break and got their goal eight minutes from time when Cajuste gathered Jack Clarke’s pass outside of the area to send the ball into the top-right corner.

Silva then rounded off a fine counter-attack, profiting from acres of space, but Ipswich substitute Hirst reduced the arrears in second-half stoppage time with a fine header from Dara O'Shea’s cross.

Ipswich’s wait for a victory goes on

Though Ipswich showed signs of improvement on Saturday, they are still the only side across England’s top-four tiers yet to register a victory in 2025.

Ipswich had made a strong start but looked like a team who had scored just 28 goals this season, failing to create any chances of note early on. And, with only Southampton conceding more this season than the Tractor Boys prior to kick-off, their defensive woes continued.

Milenkovic’s opener was down to poor miscommunication, with Palmer rushing out of his goal and cannoning the ball off Cajuste, a mistake that proved costly as Forest went ahead from the resulting corner, though the hosts had their chances to clear before conceding.

Ipswich's improvement after half-time was clear, as Omari Hutchinson saw his deflected strike saved by Sels, while Delap was unable to guide a header from Leif Davis’ inviting corner on target, though they would get their rewards late on with a moment of quality from Cajuste.

Though they conceded a fourth goal, Ipswich showed the grit and determination to bite back at Forest through Hirst, and those characteristics will need to be on show for their remaining nine matches if they are to stand any chance of not returning to the Championship.

The final international break of the season allows Ipswich to regroup ahead of the run-in but make the trip to in-form AFC Bournemouth on their return to Premier League action.

Nuno enjoys landmark Forest outing

Nuno’s appointment at the City Ground was met with raised eyebrows back in December 2023, but across the 51-year-old’s half-century of Premier League matches at the helm, the Portuguese has turned Forest from relegation strugglers to UEFA Champions League believers.

Three quick goals at the end of the first half did the damage for Forest, whose victory saw them go within a point of second-placed Arsenal in the standings, a statement not many would have believed at the start of the season.

But Forest were made to work for their opening, registering the game’s first shot on target in the 33rd minute when Chris Wood’s header from Morgan Gibbs-White’s pinpoint cross from the right-hand side was comfortably gathered by Palmer.

Those goals from Milenkovic and Elanga allowed Forest to protect their lead in the second half, though one of the division’s sternest defences will not have been happy at conceding two late goals, even if the most important factor was the three points.

The industrious Gibbs-White also impressed, showcasing what new England head coach Thomas Tuchel is missing after being left out of the recent Three Lions squad.

But Forest will have their captain well-rested ahead of their return to action against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup quarter-finals after the international break.

Club reports