Key Takeaways
- Morgan Gibbs-White’s first career hat-trick lifted Nottingham Forest five points clear of the drop zone.
- The England attacker has now hit 15 goals this term, days after firing Forest into the Europa League semi-finals.
- Spurs, who tried to sign Gibbs-White last summer, stay 18th and could fall four points from safety if West Ham win on Monday.
Nottingham Forest’s 4-1 home rout of Burnley on Sunday was sweet in more ways than one: it widened the survival gap and rubbed salt into Tottenham wounds.
Morgan Gibbs-White, the player Tottenham chased for £60 million last July, struck three times to move Forest five points above the relegation line with five matches left. The haul took his seasonal tally to 15 and made him the leading English scorer in the Premier League with 12, level with Brighton’s Danny Welbeck.
It could have been so different. Spurs believed they had triggered the midfielder’s release clause 10 months ago, yet Forest threatened legal action, accused the London club of tapping-up and soon tied their star to a fresh three-year deal. On Sunday, the decision looked wiser than ever.
“Massive three points,” Gibbs-White told BBC Match of the Day. “The gaffer told us to leave everything on the pitch. Once the second goal went in, I knew the third was coming.”
Manager Vitor Pereira praised the 26-year-old’s character. “When the team suffers, Morgan doesn’t hide. He asks for the ball, takes responsibility and leads by example,” the Portuguese said.
The victory ended Forest’s 11-game winless league run at the City Ground and completed a memorable week: on Thursday Gibbs-White scored the only goal against Porto to seal a 2-1 aggregate Europa League quarter-final triumph.
Meanwhile, Tottenham remain third-bottom. If West Ham beat Crystal Palace on Monday, Spurs will sit four points from safety with four fixtures left and memories of the one that got away hurting more than ever.