Who could blame Evangelos Marinakis if he concluded a pleasant evening by smoking a celebratory Cuban?
The Nottingham Forest owner is currently banned from Premier League stadiums after it was decided he had deliberately spat on the ground as referees walked by after Fulham defeated Forest at home. The defense of Marinakis – who had a dry cough caused in part by his fondness for cigars – was not well received by the independent panel.
Forest have appealed and this result will make Marinakis feel much better. His club are fifth in the Premier League tonight and, to make it even sweeter, they defeated a Leicester side now managed by Steve Cooper.
Cooper led Forest back to the top flight for the first time this century and is one of their best-loved managers since Brian Clough. Whether Marinakis and Cooper feel the same way about each other is open to debate. Leicester fans are certainly still not convinced by Cooper and there was some booing at full-time.
Leicester had their moments here, but Forest looked a more powerful and accomplished team. They took the lead through Ryan Yates and although Jamie Vardy brought Cooper’s men level at half-time, the Foxes made too many basic errors and Chris Wood took advantage. The Forest centre-forward scored twice after the restart and the visiting fans added to the agony by chanting Cooper’s name.
Chris Wood scored a brace to give Nottingham Forest three points on their trip to Leicester
The 32-year-old produced a stunning shot on the turn to shock the Foxes at the King Power Stadium.
Victory takes Nottingham Forest to fifth place in the Premier League standings
Nuno Espirito Santo was serving the second game of a three-match ban, while Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was serving two games of a five-match stadium ban.
Forest fans let the Premier League know exactly what they thought of these punishments by shouting their fury at the governing body in the moments before kick-off.
Looking to build on recent momentum, Cooper chose a very attacking team and the Foxes looked to play in Forest’s half. Facundo Buonanotte’s shot from outside the area clipped Murillo and went wide for a corner. Wilfred Ndidi headed Vardy’s cross too high as Leicester continued to press.
However, just as they were finding a good rhythm, Leicester fell behind. Trying to dribble outside his own area, Buonanotte was dispossessed and when Elliot Anderson’s shot was blocked into the path of James Justin, he cleared only as far as Yates. Yates’ goal from 25 yards was accurate and beat Hermansen’s shot, finding the bottom corner.
To their credit, Leicester played on, with Buonanotte, Harry Winks and the retired Ricardo Pereira forming a creative triangle in the middle. Winks received a pass from Pereira and raced forward, eventually recovering the ball deep in Forest territory. As he crossed the goal, Vardy had drifted between Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo and a stretch of his right boot deflected the ball.
Then Hermansen took over. His save on Nicolás Domínguez, who fired the ball from close range, was one of the best of the season. It is not surprising that the Dane celebrated like a striker, or that several teammates rushed to congratulate him.
Not content with that, Hermansen did well to parry a bouncing ball and deflect a cross from the dangerous Anthony Elanga. Leicester looked vulnerable to Forest’s quick counter-attacks and needed Hermansen to bail them out again when Callum Hudson-Odoi slid in from the left and fired home.
Leicester is back. Buonanotte’s great skill provided Stephy Mavididi with a header opportunity that he failed to take advantage of. In first-half stoppage time, Mavididi almost made amends with a deflected attempt from 20 yards.
Just before the second half began, Leicester substitute Conor Coady was seen talking animatedly to Cooper on the touchline. Perhaps he was talking about the mistakes that had at times made Leicester look so fragile.
Jamie Vardy scored his fourth goal of the season to get the Foxes back into the game.
Steve Cooper endured a nightmarish reunion with his former team at the King Power Stadium
Unfortunately for the hosts, just 100 seconds after the restart there was another one. Wink’s lazy pass caught Abdul Fatawu on his heels and was intercepted by Alex Moreno. Then, when Anderson found Wood, Caleb Okoli gave Forest’s leading scorer too much space to turn and fire into the corner from 15 yards.
Leicester demanded a penalty shortly afterwards for Milenkovic’s slight pull on Vardy, but their pleas were ignored.
Forest should have finished when, after another Leicester move failed midway, Hudson-Odoi hit the post and Anderson curled in the rebound from 18 yards.
However, the visitors did not have to wait long to secure the match. Matz Sels kicked the ball forward and after more antics in the Leicester defence, Wood waited for Wout Faes’ attempted header on Hermansen and calmly guided the ball over the Leicester goalkeeper to score the decisive goal.
It could have been even worse for the home team when, after more uncertain defending in a corner, Yates parried one from three yards.