Gibbs-White sparks cruise past Wolves as Forest extend run

Just as Wolves had started to dream of a brighter future under Vitor Pereira, it was the ghosts of the past that haunted Molineux as their former head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and academy product Morgan Gibbs-White secured a win that puts Nottingham Forest level on points with second-placed Arsenal.

- Will Unwin

Wolves were unbeaten under Pereira and were the superior side for almost the entirety of the match but as they saw chances come and go, while portraying Gibbs-White as a pantomime villain, it seemed inevitable what the outcome would be. Nuno took Wolves into Europe and is plotting the same trick with Forest after a sixth victory in a row, sealed by goals from Gibbs-White, Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi.

Pereira faced a key quandary as he had to work out how to replace the suspended Matheus Cunha, who is Wolves' top scorer with 10 goals in 19 matches. The head coach opted for five changes overall, including a Premier League debut for 18-year-old Brazilian Pedro Lima at right-back, giving him the simple task of keeping Callum Hudson-Odoi quiet, and attack-minded wing-back Rayan Aït-Nouri as a centre-back.

The new England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, was in attendance but had limited eligible Englishmen on view. There were four starters between the two teams. One of those, the recently-capped Gibbs-White, was booed whenever he touched the ball on his return to Wolves, possibly a harsh reflection on someone that was given limited chances at Molineux before being sold to Forest for a healthy fee.