Nottingham Forest saw out 2024 with a 2-0 win against Everton, leaving Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in the Champions League positions going into 2025.
Forest beat Everton thanks to a brilliant first-half chip by Chris Wood and a Morgan Gibbs-White strike, with the three points securing Forest’s place in the top four in the Premier League table going into the new year.
The task was not an easy one for the Forest manager, with Ryan Yates suspended for the Everton clash and Murillo picking up a worrying knock in the pre-match warm-up.
However, the task could’ve been made simpler for Forest if one refereeing decision was made in the first half, with former referee Mike Dean believing an error was made at Goodison Park.
Mike Dean believes James Tarkowski should’ve been sent off
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Special, veteran referee Dean believed that James Tarkowski was very lucky to not receive a second yellow card after fouling Wood just before halftime.
With Wood breaking into the Everton final third, Tarkowski slid in from behind and didn’t win the ball but not even a foul was given, let alone a yellow card.
Reacting to this, Dean said: “Tarkowski is lucky to be on the pitch, it should have been a second yellow card.”
Tarkowski was booked inside ten minutes against Forest, catching Ramon Sosa with a poor tackle that brought out a card from Tony Harrington.
