Nottingham Forest stun Tottenham Hotspur to boost Champions League hopes

Nottingham Forest boosted their hopes for a Champions League spot with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday in North London, moving them up to third in the Premier League table.

Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood scored early goals to hand Spurs their 18th defeat of the season—the most by any team outside the relegation zone.

Forest started the game strongly, opening the scoring in just the fifth minute when Anderson’s blistering volley took a deflection off Rodrigo Bentancur before finding the net.

Wood doubled the lead in the 16th minute, slotting home his 19th league goal of the season from Anthony Elanga’s pinpoint pass.

The second half began without VAR after the Premier League confirmed a temporary suspension due to a fire alarm at the VAR Hub in Stockley Park.

"The match will be operating without VAR until further notice due to a fire alarm at the VAR Hub at Stockley Park,"  the Premier League said in a statement.

However, VAR was operational earlier in the match and played a key role in disallowing a goal from Wood after confirming he was offside—an incident that occurred before the system was suspended.

Tottenham’s struggles continued as they failed to build on their recent Europa League success, where a victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday secured their place in the semi-finals.

Despite dominating possession (70%), creating more chances, and registering more shots on target, Spurs were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.

Forest, who began the match in sixth place, have now kept their dream of qualifying for Europe’s elite competition well and truly alive.