Nottingham Forest opened their Premier League campaign in emphatic fashion with a 3-1 victory over Brentford at the City Ground, spoiling Keith Andrews’ first match in charge of the Bees.
Forest, who had not won on the opening day since 2017, were quick out of the blocks and took the lead inside five minutes.
Chris Wood, scorer of 20 league goals last season, bundled home from close range after Brentford failed to clear a corner.
The hosts dictated the tempo throughout a dominant first half, with Morgan Gibbs-White pulling the strings. Three minutes before the interval, his deft chipped cross was met by Swiss debutant Dan Ndoye, who guided a header beyond Caoimhin Kelleher to double the lead.
Brentford’s woes deepened in stoppage time as Sepp van den Berg’s loose pass was punished. Elliot Anderson seized possession and slid a perfectly weighted pass to Wood, who calmly rounded Kelleher to slot into an empty net for his second of the afternoon.
Andrews’ side struggled for rhythm, with little attacking fluency until late in the game. Their solitary breakthrough came in the 78th minute after Ibrahim Sangare was penalised for handball. Igor Thiago, signed from Club Brugge last summer, converted confidently from the spot to claim his first goal for the club.
But it was Forest who finished with authority, roared on by a buoyant home crowd celebrating their first opening-day win in seven years.
For Andrews, who succeeded Thomas Frank over the summer, it was a sobering introduction to Premier League management. Brentford will need sharp improvements if they are to avoid being mired in early-season struggles, while Forest can take confidence from a display full of attacking verve and clinical finishing.
