Nottingham Forest Stun Brentford With Vital Away Win

Nottingham Forest delivered one of their most spirited performances of the Premier League season on January 25, 2026, clinching a 2-0 victory away at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium. For a club battling to avoid the drop, every point counts—and this win, powered by goals from Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi, could prove absolutely vital in the race for survival.

The visitors arrived in London with the odds stacked against them. Brentford had lost at home only once all season, with Manchester City the sole conqueror on their patch. That’s no small feat, considering only the league’s top three—Arsenal, Manchester City, and Aston Villa—boast better home records. Forest, meanwhile, had managed just three wins in their previous eleven away league outings. Yet, when the whistle blew, it was Sean Dyche’s men who looked hungrier and more clinical.

Brentford started on the front foot, nearly grabbing the lead within two minutes as Igor Thiago poked just wide. The Bees’ top scorer, who has been a revelation this season with 16 league goals—second only to Erling Haaland—looked dangerous early on. But Forest soon turned the tide. In the 12th minute, summer signing Igor Jesus, who joined from Botafogo for £10 million, made his mark. He controlled Ola Aina’s cross on his chest, held off Nathan Collins, and unleashed a powerful volley past Caoimhin Kelleher. It was just his second Premier League goal of the campaign, but what a time to deliver.

“Jesus had earlier upstaged his fellow Brazilian striker Igor Thiago with just his second Premier League goal this term,” reported DonegalLive.ie, highlighting the significance of the opener. For Jesus, who had previously struggled with conversion—scoring just once from 40 shots before this match—the goal was a much-needed confidence boost.

Brentford responded with waves of pressure, dominating possession and territory. Sepp van den Berg, on for the injured Kristoffer Ajer in the 37th minute, nearly equalized on the stroke of halftime with a header that drifted narrowly wide. Injuries continued to plague the hosts, as both Ajer and midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard were forced off with apparent knee problems. Despite these setbacks, Brentford continued to probe, with headers from Kevin Schade and Dango Ouattara missing the mark and a half-volley from Igor Thiago straying wide in the closing stages.

Forest, perhaps feeling the nerves that come with fighting for survival, retreated after their opener. Their backline, however, stayed resolute, repeatedly repelling Brentford’s advances. The Bees, as their manager Keith Andrews later lamented, simply couldn’t find the finishing touch. “Really frustrating, is the honest answer,” Andrews said post-match. “We can’t be content with a good performance, we have to be ruthless. They had two shots on target and scored. We can’t just pat ourselves on the back and say, ‘Haven’t we done well the last few weeks?’. We need to evolve as a team and solve those problems.”

As the clock ticked down, Forest’s nerves held. Then came the moment that sent the away fans into raptures—and brought a wave of emotion to the Forest bench. Substitute Taiwo Awoniyi, who replaced Jesus in the 68th minute, chased down a long ball from Morgan Gibbs-White. Outmuscling Sepp van den Berg and sidestepping Michael Kayode’s desperate tackle, Awoniyi slotted calmly through Kelleher’s legs. The goal, his first in the league since January 6, 2025, was more than just a statistic—it marked a triumphant return from emergency abdominal surgery that had sidelined him since a frightening collision with the post against Leicester City in May 2025.

“Absolutely buzzing,” Forest manager Sean Dyche said after the final whistle. “He works hard for us and he’s trained well. Funnily enough, I chatted with him last week and reminded him to be free, and he looked free when he came on. It was a very good finish. He’s been knocking on the door, he’s been working hard for the team and he gets a reward with a really good bit of play and a really fine finish.” Dyche also praised Awoniyi’s resilience: “He had a bit of a soft spell a couple of weeks ago and then he’s come out of it the last week. He’s looked sharper and come back to life, let’s say. I had absolutely no doubt in putting him on. I thought, ‘Yeah, absolutely, go and play’.”

The win means Forest now sit five points clear of 18th-placed West Ham, level on points with 16th-placed Leeds United, and with real hope of staying up. For a club that spent around £180 million in the summer and has cycled through three managers this campaign, the result is a much-needed shot in the arm. New boss Dyche, appointed in October, has urged patience as his squad adapts to his style, and performances like this will only strengthen his case.

Brentford, meanwhile, remain eighth in the table, four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea. The defeat, just their second at home all season, stings all the more given the missed opportunity to climb into the top five. Injuries to key players add to their woes, and Andrews will be hoping for quick recoveries as the Bees look to regroup ahead of a tricky trip to Aston Villa on February 1.

For Forest, the fixture list offers little respite. They face Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the Europa League on January 29 before hosting Crystal Palace in the Premier League on February 1. Dyche will be hoping that this newfound resilience and clinical edge can carry over into those crucial matches. Notably absent from the squad against Brentford was new signing Lorenzo Lucca, who joined on loan from Napoli just days earlier. Fans will be eager to see if the Italian striker can add further firepower in the coming weeks.

The match itself was not without its drama—yellow cards, tactical substitutions, and a flurry of late Brentford chances kept both sets of supporters on edge until the final whistle. Yet, as the dust settles, it’s Nottingham Forest who march away with renewed belief and a precious three points in their fight for Premier League survival.

With the season entering a pivotal phase, every match, every goal, and every bit of resilience could make all the difference. If Forest can build on this victory, their escape from the drop zone may just become one of the stories of the year.