It was another disappointing afternoon in the Championship for Nottingham Forest, who lost their fourth successive game following a 2-1 home defeat to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon.

It has been a dismal start to 2020/21 for Forest, who went into Saturday's fixture having lost their first three games of the Championship season, failing to score a single goal in that time.

Sabri Lamouchi would have been urging his side to record their first points of the season against the Robins, but a lacklustre first-half display saw their chances of picking up a first league win diminish.

Quiz: Do these celebrities support Nottingham Forest or Derby County?

 

Two goals in quick succession from Andreas Weimann and Nahki Wells put Bristol City 2-0 up, with Luke Freeman scoring a spectacular goal right before half-time to get Forest back into the game.

City had Daniel Bentley to thank after the goalkeeper produced a host of excellent saves to keep Forest at bay, and in the end, the Reds were unable to find that second goal.

It's now four defeats in four for Forest, with the pressure mounting on Lamouchi. Here, we take a look at three things we clearly learnt about Forest after their 2-1 defeat to the Robins...

Bittersweet second-half display

Forest's second-half display on Saturday was undoubtedly their most positive and most impressive of the season so far.

The Reds dominated the ball and were on top for large parts of the second-half, with City's only sign of danger being on the counter-attack as they looked to hit the ball long.

Lyle Taylor could, and probably should have opened his account for the club after being denied from close-range by Bentley, whilst the goalkeeper was also there to deny Jack Colback from a similar position, too.

Lewis Grabban forced an excellent, flying save out of the goalkeeper with a ferocious from 25 yards, and if Forest can replicate that second-half performance over the course of the season, then things will improve.

Ultimately, though, Forest need to be at their best for both halves, and they cannot afford to gift the goals the way they did on Saturday and how they have done so far this season.

Clinical edge needed

Luke Freeman's strike got Forest back into the game right before half-time - it was some way to open the Reds' account for the season, and could be a shout for goal of the season come the end of the year.

City definitely had Daniel Bentley to thank after securing their fourth successive league win, with the goalkeeper producing a string of impressive saves to keep Lamouchi's men at bay.

Forest had 20 shots at the weekend, but only managed to record six of those on target, so when chances do come their way, they need to make sure they take them during this rut.

Lewis Grabban fired a couple of shots wide, and despite Nicholas Ioannou and Luke Freeman delivering exquisite crosses into the box particularly in the second-half, no-one was there to attack them.

The end of the road for Lamouchi?

This defeat ultimately places Lamouchi's future at the City Ground in even more doubt.

Lamouchi's side had to make a positive start to the season given what went on at the end of last season, after their failure to secure a top-six finish.

It has been a dismal start to the season for Forest, and after making 12 new signings over the course of the transfer window, expectations are high.

It remains to be seen whether the club to make a decision before the trip to Ewood Park arrives, amid real uncertainty surrounding the manager's job at the moment.