Nottingham Forest have given themselves a ‘great opportunity’ to achieve Premier League survival this season with a big three points against Southampton, according to pundit Jamie Carragher.
Goals from Taiwo Awoniyi (x2), Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo gave Forest a 4-3 win at the City Ground. The three points lifts them out of the relegation zone and three points above Leicester City after the Foxes’ loss against Fulham earlier in the day.
Forest also climb above Everton after the Toffees earned a shock 5-1 win over Brighton just before the Reds kicked off against Southampton. The win against the Saints is the Reds second in three games, following the side’s 3-1 victory over Brighton.
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Carragher says that the positive results serves as a massive boost for Steve Cooper ’s side ahead of the final three games of the season.
"It's huge the belief you take from this,” he told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football at full time. “You look at the results with the other teams involved, two of them played today and this stage of the season getting three points is massive.
"No one is in great form. Before this Forest had won one in 13, Leicester the same. Everton had been on a poor run but won. One win puts you outside the bottom three, which is the name of the game.
"Forest have won two in the last four now and that's huge for them. They had to win this game. This was the one that was far easier on paper than anything to come so they've given themselves a great opportunity now."
Former Forest player and manager Martin O’Neill agreed with Carragher, outlining just how important the win could be for the club going into the weekend’s game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
He said: "This was a big, big game for them. I'm going to state the obvious here. The most important thing was to win and it didn't matter how they did it.
"They had a tough start but it doesn't really matter. They've won 33 points and that is tremendous for them. Leicester have lost and stay on 30 points so those three points are so vital. It's about getting over the line."
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