Nottingham Forest recorded their first win of the 2020/21 campaign on Saturday afternoon, defeating Blackburn Rovers by a goal to nil at Ewood Park.

The Chris Hughton era got off to the perfect start on Saturday, as Joe Lolley's deflected effort in injury time secured Forest's first win of the season, after a disappointing start to the campaign.

The winger's effort wrong-footed a helpless Thomas Kaminski and nestled into the bottom corner, lifting a huge weight off the players' shoulders.

Quiz: Do Nottingham Forest and Derby County have these 10 things in common?

 

It wasn't the prettiest of performances from Forest, but they dug in, battled hard and fought until the end to pick up the win, and Hughton will be hoping for more of the same against Rotherham tomorrow night.

Reflecting on the win at Ewood Park, we take a look at three things you may have missed during Forest's first win of the season...

Luke Freeman's pressing

 

Forest set up in their usual 4-2-3-1 system - a system that was used a lot by Sabri Lamouchi, and looks to be Chris Hughton's preferred formation going forward.

There was something different about Forest at the weekend compared to that of under Lamouchi, though, and that was the way they pressed.

The Reds pressed high as a unit, and off the ball, Luke Freeman played right up alongside Lewis Grabban in the final third, acting almost like a second striker.

Having Freeman pressing high up alongside Grabban not only puts pressure on the defence, but it allows the pair to split the defensive line, meaning more space for the midfield to push up into.

Freeman is a very creative player who has the ability to pick out a killer pass, and having a player of his skill in close proximity to a potent goalscorer like Grabban only enhances Forest's chances of finding the net.

Possession

Forest only had 39% of the ball on Saturday afternoon - but they asserted their dominance when it mattered.

For large spells, particularly in the first-half, Blackburn dominated the ball and Forest barely had a touch in the final third.

But as Blackburn started to become frustrated in the second-half, Forest had most of the chances. Sammy Ameobi hit the post, Ryan Yates headed over from 12 yards, and they worked the ball about much better.

On paper, it looks as if it was a smash-and-grab win for Forest, but it was anything but that. Their work on the ball in the final 30 minutes helped them get that invaluable win.

Nicholas Ioannou's pass

Ioannou was arguably Forest's most creative outlet going forward at the weekend, with the left-back producing another impressive performance for the Reds.

Full-backs were particularly important for both sides at the weekend. There was a lot of space to work into going forward, and Ioannou made the most of that.

Ioannou's left foot is very strong and he used it to full effect with some impressive crosses at the weekend, but there was a moment in the first-half where he used his weak foot to almost create an opening.

He received a long ball from Brice Samba just short of halfway and was forced to retreat following pressure from Tyrhys Dolan.

Then, on his weaker right foot, he played an expertly-weighted chipped ball into the chest of Luke Freeman, who was being pressured by two Rovers midfielders.

The weight on the pass allowed Freeman to turn, feed Cyrus Christie down the right, and his awkward cross had to be tipped onto the crossbar by Kaminski.

The move obviously didn't result in a goal and turned out to be rather meaningless in the end, but that short passage of play displayed just how effective Ioannou can be going forward.