Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brentford: Bees put sting in hosts’ Champions League hopes as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side drop out of top five behind Man City and Chelsea

Yoane Wissa might have been a Nottingham Forest player by now had Brentford decided to cash in on their impressive forward.

Three months later, Wissa may have dealt a significant blow to Forest’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League by scoring the decisive second goal against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

Forest slipped out of the top five and though this defeat is far from terminal, their form is a serious worry. The goals from Kevin Schade and Wissa condemned Forest to their third defeat in four league games and too many of their main men are losing form, particularly in a defence that has proved so solid all campaign. The errors made for Brentford’s goals would have embarrassed an Under-11 team.

This was Brentford’s sixth away win of what has been another impressive season for the west London club. With Brentford’s season effectively over, Forest might have hoped they would lack focus for this match. If so, they were sorely mistaken.

Though Forest have had an outstanding year, they would be so dejected if they missed out on the Champions League now, having spent so long in the top five. They must regroup quickly: in-form Crystal Palace await at Selhurst Park on Monday.

There was little time for disappointment after Forest’s defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley last Sunday. This is a five-game sprint for the finishing line that Forest hope will deliver Champions League football.

Forest failed to capitalise on their game in hand in the top-five race and move up to third place

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are sixth and would not make the Champions League at this rate

Inside the City Ground, they were heartened to see Nuno’s strongest XI. Ola Aina had recovered from the injury that had kept him out of the previous four games and Anthony Elanga was also restored to the starting XI.

Now Brentford are the type of team who trouble Forest. Like their hosts, they play a cautious game and rely on counter-attacking speed. And the alarm was sounded in the second minute for Forest when Kevin Schade headed back Mikkel Damsgaard’s cross, forcing Murillo to make an awkward clearance.

Forest showed their edginess when Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi made a mess of a free-kick routine and bickered briefly. Moments later, Matz Sels saved superbly to stop Sepp van den Berg heading home Damsgaard’s free-kick.

Already on a yellow card, Keane Lewis-Potter barged Aina over in a dangerous spot – and escaped a second booking. Nuno could not believe his eyes and nor could his No2 Rui Silva, who berated fourth official Leigh Doughty.

We saw only glimpses of Gibbs-White’s ability before half-time. A low cross forced Van den Berg into a risky clearance. Then he made a superb tackle on Bryan Mbeumo and released Elliot Anderson, whose finish was weak.

Forest fell behind just before half-time and it was a defensive shocker. Aina was slow to track Schade’s incursion off the left and neither Sels nor Murillo dealt with Nathan Collins’ ball over the top. Unable to believe his luck, Schade outmuscled Aina and prodded beyond Sels.

The sight of Callum Hudson-Odoi hobbling towards the tunnel summed up Forest’s mood and Nuno knew much better was needed in the second half to keep the wagons rolling.

The Forest boss sent on Nicolas Dominguez for the injured Hudson-Odoi, with Elanga switching to the left. Not surprisingly, Rico Henry was brought on for the struggling Lewis-Potter.

Kevin Schade opened the scoring, pouncing on a Forest defensive mistake in the 44th minute

Yoane Wissa then made it 2-0 to the visitors in the 71st minute, chipping goalkeeper Matz Sels

Thomas Frank’s side closed in further on the top half, now one point off Bournemouth in 10th

Double European Cup winner Ian Bowyer was interviewed on the pitch at half-time, perhaps in an attempt to summon the spirit of the club’s greatest nights.

Yet as rain teemed down at the start of the second half, Forest could not shake their anxiety. Simple passes went astray and routine moves broke down. And when the home side did find a gap in the Brentford defensive wall, Mark Flekken made a fine save from Elanga’s angled effort. Then the Bees goalkeeper was able to watch calmly as Ryan Yates’ strike from distance floated wide.

This crowd have been ultra-supportive all season but when Gibbs-White’s attempted pass to Wood drifted straight to Flekken, even they started to lose patience. Nuno responded with an extra centre-forward as Taiwo Awoniyi replaced Anderson.

‘Get it in the box’ was the plan, and it nearly worked instantly. Eight yards out, Chris Wood headed Aina’s cross wide.

Having let in such a poor goal in the first half, it seemed unimaginable Forest would do so again. Somehow, however, they did. When Flekken launched downfield, Nikola Milenkovic allowed the ball to bounce and when he turned, Wissa was charging on goal. His delightful finish did the rest.