Nottingham Forest Dominates Ipswich Town to Strengthen Champions League Ambitions

Nottingham Forest ramped up their challenge for a top-four position in the Premier League with a commanding 4-2 victory away at Ipswich Town. This result means the Tractor Boys remain the only team across England’s top four divisions yet to secure a league win in 2025.

Both teams entered the match with a clear desire to score early, but converting that intent into clear opportunities proved to be a difficult task.

Amidst their desperation to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, Ipswich came closest to breaking the deadlock when Omari Hutchinson sent a strike just over the crossbar.

Surprisingly, the first shot on target didn’t come until over 30 minutes into the match. When it finally did arrive, Chris Wood’s header was comfortably caught by goalkeeper Alex Palmer.

This moment seemed to galvanise Forest, who then seized the opportunity to take the lead. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross into the box created chaos, and Nikola Milenković was quickest to react, smashing the ball into the roof of the net.

As the cliche goes, goals can come in quick succession; merely moments after the restart, Palmer found himself retrieving the ball from the net once more.

A rapid counter-attack from Forest saw Anthony Elanga darting down the right flank before curling a splendid effort into the far corner with his left foot.

A familiar outcome was unfolding for Ipswich as their self-destruction continued, resulting in them trailing three goals to nil before the interval.

This time, Elanga and Milenković combined, with Elanga pouncing on Milenković’s hopeful long ball and sliding it past the advancing Palmer.

The second half turned into a quest for Ipswich to salvage some pride, and they nearly did when Liam Delap’s header from a corner by Leif Davis sailed narrowly wide.

The game being effectively settled by half-time allowed Ipswich to find a late consolation through Jens Cajuste, who managed to find the top corner from the edge of the area.

Forest swiftly restored their three-goal advantage, with Jota Silva finishing off a slick counter-attack.

Even after George Hirst found the net for Ipswich, it did little to dampen Forest’s celebrations, as they claimed a vital three points that reinforced their hold on a top-four spot while leaving Ipswich nine points adrift of safety with a similar number of matches remaining.