Dissecting Forest's masterclass as statement rout throws down gauntlet to rivals

That’s how you put down a marker. That’s how you send a shiver down the spine of your nearest rivals and have them breaking out into a cold sweat. The Reds did all of that and more on Friday night as they ran riot in the north east.

They stunned Sunderland with a devastating first-half goal blitz that Black Cats manager Regis Le Bris admitted felt “like a punch in the face”. Was it a knockout blow for others, too?

The shockwaves of those first 45 minutes would have reverberated all the way to the capital. West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur play later today (Saturday) and now know what they are up against in the battle for Premier League survival. Over to you two now; what have you got in response?

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But the implications of this 5-0 rout on others shouldn’t overshadow what it means for Vitor Pereira’s side, and what it says about them as a group. This was really all about Forest.

They were superb and they took a huge step toward safety by returning home with three points. Pereira insisted afterwards the club are not there yet, but his jubilant fist-pumps at the end said it all. Below, NottinghamshireLive looks at the big talking points from a huge win.

Was it really not that long ago all the talk was about the Reds struggling to find the back of the net? Scratch that theory, they have bagged nine goals in their last two games - hitting four against Burnley last weekend before going one better at the Stadium of Light.

This was the first time since April 1995 (a 7-1 demolition of Sheffield Wednesday) Forest had triumphed on the road by at least five goals in the Premier League. In any competition, you still had to go back to August 2019 (an 8-0 League Cup rout over Doncaster Rovers) for an away win by a minimum of five goals.

The visitors were ruthless before the break, netting three times in the space of just six minutes to leave a delirious away end in dreamland territory. Sunderland mistakes were pounced upon and the hosts were picked apart.

Somehow, the Reds only finished the match with an xG (expected goals) of 1.3. Each goal was well crafted and expertly taken, though, and each carried its own particular significance.

For Chris Wood, his 31st minute strike was his first since returning from injury. The grin told you exactly how much he enjoyed it.

No player has scored more goals in the Premier League this calendar year than Morgan Gibbs-White (10) as he sent another message Thomas Tuchel’s way. Igor Jesus has found the going a little tougher domestically but his composed finish for 3-0 made it back-to-back games on the scoresheet. The Brazilian would love to have been credited with the opener, too, but that went down as a Trai Hume own goal.

Cake iced, Elliot Anderson then supplied the cherry on top. This one clearly meant a lot to the midfielder, following the recent death of his mother. The former Newcastle United man putting the knife in the enemy will no doubt have gone down well across the Tyne.

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If England boss Tuchel needs any further encouragement to hand Gibbs-White the World Cup call-up he deserves, he should take note of the 26-year-old’s versatility. He is not just a No.10.

On Friday night, Pereira stuck with the set-up that had been so effective in the second half against the Clarets. It meant Jesus occupying the pocket behind Wood and Gibbs-White operating on the left, albeit with some degree of freedom when his team had the ball.

Playing Jesus there certainly helps get more out of the summer signing. He looks much more comfortable in that role, with Wood the one to lead the line.

“What happens with Igor now is, he is playing with a striker,” Pereira explained. “He is not playing alone. When he is playing in the pocket, in the zone, he is very dangerous. He has a lot of skills.”

Being without the injured Callum Hudson-Odoi for the remainder of the campaign is a blow, not least because it limits Pereira’s wide options. But the reshuffle orchestrated in the last couple of matches surely points the way forward for the Reds for the run-in.

A word, too, for Omari Hutchinson. Ex-referee and former Forest adviser Mark Clattenburg labelled the £37.5 million man as one of the worst signings of the season this week, describing the recruitment of him and teammate James McAtee as “bordering on shambolic”.

Maybe word got back to Hutchinson. Regardless, he put in his best performance since his summer switch on Friday night.

Scoring four times in the first 37 minutes was, Pereira said, “not easy”. However, the Reds head coach took just as much pride in his team’s clean-sheet as he did their goal spree.

Despite the mountain facing them, the Black Cats had at least given it a go in the second half. They forced their opponents to work hard and Pereira admitted the focus shifted more to defending.

An injury to Jair Cunha little more than five minutes after the break will have been the last thing he wanted to see. Already without Murillo, losing another centre-back was the only negative on an otherwise thrilling evening.

Jair looked in pain as he clutched his arm when he made way. The 21-year-old had put in another assured display, and with Murillo expected to also miss next week’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Aston Villa it is to be hoped it isn’t anything too serious for his compatriot.

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“The result of the season,” was Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp’s emphatic verdict. It might well be the result that seals Forest another year of top-flight football, too.

West Ham and Tottenham will want to still have something to say about that, but safety is getting ever closer for the Reds. They are on 39 points, starting the weekend eight ahead of Spurs, and with their goal difference having received a nice boost.

Pereira said he will not watch the two London clubs’ games (the Hammers at home to Everton and Tottenham away to Wolverhampton Wanderers) this afternoon. He quipped: “I suffer with my games and that’s enough! Maybe I will be at home, maybe drinking a pint, but not watching the games.”

The Portuguese had set his players the task of playing like they were among Europe’s elite. “I asked my team to play in the level of the Champions League, because the Premier League is our Champions League,” he explained.

It is to the Europa League attention now turns. Might there be a couple more special nights to come?