Chris Wood scored the decisive goal as Nottingham Forest secured a 2-1 victory over a struggling Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday evening, bouncing back from successive defeats to bolster their Champions League ambitions while increasing the pressure on Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.

Forest arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sitting sixth in the Premier League table, having suffered back-to-back losses against Aston Villa and Everton.

However, early goals from Elliot Anderson and leading scorer Wood settled any lingering nerves, and despite a late strike from Richarlison, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side held firm to climb to third in the standings.

With Liverpool firmly in control of the title race and Arsenal appearing set for second place, the battle for the remaining Champions League spots is intensifying. Only three points now separate Forest from seventh-placed Aston Villa, with five matches left for all contenders.

The visitors made a blistering start, taking the lead inside five minutes when Anderson’s deflected effort from a corner found its way past Guglielmo Vicario.

Wood thought he had doubled Forest’s advantage shortly afterwards, but his effort was ruled out by VAR for offside. Undeterred, the New Zealander made no mistake in the 16th minute, nodding home Anthony Elanga’s cross to extend the lead.

Despite Spurs enjoying the lion’s share of possession and registering more shots on goal, they struggled to seriously trouble the Forest defence.

Forest could have put the result beyond doubt early in the second half, when Wood cushioned a pass into the path of Morgan Gibbs-White, only for the midfielder to skew his shot wide.

At the other end, defender Harry Toffolo produced a superb overhead clearance on the goal-line to deny Dejan Kulusevski’s header, preserving Forest’s two-goal advantage shortly after the hour mark.

Postecoglou introduced former Forest winger Brennan Johnson and striker Dominic Solanke with 25 minutes remaining, as Spurs searched for a route back into the match.

Goalkeeper Matz Sels produced an outstanding fingertip save to push a Richarlison header wide with around 10 minutes remaining, but the Brazilian eventually halved the deficit in the 87th minute, powering a header past Sels from Pedro Porro’s cross.

Despite late pressure, Forest held on for an important victory.

Speaking after the match, Nuno praised his side’s resilience, acknowledging that Tottenham had them “against the ropes” for spells.

“It’s about surviving those moments, especially at this stage of the season when fatigue creeps in — not just physical fatigue, but also mental strain and anxiety,” Nuno told Sky Sports. “All of that caused the team to drop deeper, but we showed character.”

Looking ahead to an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City this weekend, Nuno admitted it was an important period for his team.

“You don’t get these opportunities often, especially in this league, fighting for something nobody expected us to be involved in,” he added.

Forest, who narrowly avoided relegation last season by finishing 17th, are two-time European champions, though they have not featured in Europe’s premier club competition since the 1980-81 campaign.

For Tottenham, their 18th defeat of a dismal league season leaves them only two places clear of the relegation zone.

Nevertheless, Postecoglou still has an opportunity to salvage silverware in his second campaign at the helm. Spurs are set to face Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt in the semi-finals of the Europa League next month, with the winner earning a place in next season’s Champions League.

Reflecting on the match, Postecoglou expressed frustration at his team’s costly mistakes.

“We dominated the game but conceded poor goals and left ourselves with a mountain to climb,” the Australian said. “It’s disappointing, but our focus now turns to the Europa League, where we still have the chance to achieve something and protect our players’ confidence.”

Tottenham next travel to face Liverpool on Monday, while fifth-placed Manchester City host Aston Villa on Wednesday.