Nottingham Forest 4-1 Burnley: Clarets stand on the brink of relegation after miserable collapse

In a game reminiscent of Fulham a few weeks ago, the Clarets squandered the lead – given to them by Zian Flemming – to lose 4-1 away from home.

The Dutchman gave the Clarets a rare lead with his 10th goal of the season in all competitions on the stroke of half-time.

Despite offering little going forwards, the visitors had been comfortable up to that point, containing a flat and lacklustre Forest side exhausted by their midweek Europa League exploits.

But as soon as Vitor Pereira’s side applied some pressure, Burnley simply wilted, offering no resistance as Forest boosted their own survival hopes.

But for the Clarets, their relegation could come as early as Wednesday night when they take on Manchester City, depending on how West Ham do against Crystal Palace tomorrow night.

But sitting 12 points adrift of safety with only five games remaining, it doesn’t particularly matter when their fat is sealed. It’s simply a matter of time.

Parker made just one change to his starting XI as Kyle Walker came back in for Bashir Humphreys after being surprisingly dropped last time out against Brighton.

Josh Laurent returned from suspension to take his place on the bench, while Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts, Josh Cullen, Hannibal and Zeki Amdouni all remain sidelined.

The likes of Axel Tuanzebe, Lucas Pires and Ashley Barnes, meanwhile, were left out.

As for Forest, Elliot Anderson returned after missing their Europa League win over Porto on Thursday after being granted compassionate leave.

Ex-Claret Chris Wood was fit enough to start despite being forced off with an injury scare in midweek.

It was a quiet, dull start to the game, which was perhaps to be expected given Forest’s European exploits on Thursday night.

We had to wait until the 25th minute for the first attempt on goal and it came Burnley’s way via the boot of James Ward-Prowse.

The on-loan West Ham man feinted to cross a 30-yard free-kick from a tough angle, only to power a dipping effort towards the far corner. It was an awkward one for Matz Sels, but he just about managed to fumble it away from danger.

Burnley were doing a good job of frustrating the home side, leading to some moans and groans from the Forest faithful.

With five minutes remaining during an uneventful first half, Zian Flemming almost found himself through on goal after surging onto Quilindschy Hartman’s long ball forward, only for the ball to be cut out for recovering defender Murillo.

It came at a cost for Forest though, with Murillo pulling up injured and unable to carry on.

The remainder of the half appeared to be fizzling out, but Burnley had other ideas, taking the lead with virtually the last kick of the first 45.

Zian Flemming was the man to get it, netting his 10th goal of the season in all competitions, steering home from close range from Quilindschy Hartman’s pullback.

Marcus Edwards was also involved in the build up, receiving the ball in space in between the lines before feeding Hartman down the left.

It was the only genuine action of an otherwise poor half, prompting boos from the home fans while the jubilant Clarets chanted “down with the Burnley”.

The visitors began the second-half in a similar vein, getting in behind Forest’s backline again - this time via Kyle Walker down their right - only for the full-back’s pullback to be cut out at the vital moment.

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Forest hit back with a presentable opening of their own though, and perhaps their first of the afternoon, only for Morgan Gibbs-White to fluff his lines in front of goal.

It came after Maxime Esteve had made an excellent block to deny half-time substitute Igor Jesus, only for the ball to ricochet kindly for Gibbs-White inside the box, only for the England international to get his attempt all wrong, skewing well wide.

Gibbs-White didn’t make the same mistake with his next chance though, slotting home calmly to draw his side level.

It was an unusual goal to concede from Burnley’s perspective, with Ward-Prowse inadvertently flicking the ball towards the back post, where Gibbs-White had been left on his own. He took a touch to settle himself before beating Dubravka to break Burnley’s resolve.

Parker immediately reacted by withdrawing Marcus Edwards and introducing Lyle Foster, who came close to producing an instant impact when his low effort almost crept in at the back post, but Sels did well to turn it behind.

Within seven minutes of the leveller, Forest completed the turnaround and it came from that man Gibbs-White once again.

While Burnley’s defending left a lot to be desired, with Gibbs-White left in acres of space, it was an exquisite first-time finish that gave Dubravka no chance.

For the Clarets, they had completely wilted having previously looked so comfortable, similar to what we witnessed at Fulham a few weeks ago.

As bad as the collapse was, you simply had to admire Gibbs-White’s quality as he completed a 15-minute hat-trick to condemn Burnley to another defeat.

He somehow managed to steer a header from a good 14 or 15 yards out beyond Dubravka and into the far corner following a hopeful ball in the box to make it 3-1 to the home side.

It looked as though the remainder of the game was simply fizzling out, but Igor Jesus rubbed further salt into the wound deep into stoppage time when he raced through before beating Dubravka.

TEAMS

Forest: Sels, Aina, Murillo (Cunha), Milenkovic, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Bakwa (Jesus), Hutchinson (Morata), Gibbs-White (Dominguez), Wood (Yates)

Subs not used: Ortega, McAtee, Netz, Awoniyi

Burnley: Dubravka, Walker, Ekdal, Esteve, Hartman, Florentino (Laurent), Ward-Prowse, Ugochukwu (Bruun Larsen), Edwards (Foster), Anthony (Tchaouna), Flemming (Broja)

Subs not used: Weiss, Worrall, Humphreys, Tresor

Referee: Thomas Kirk

Attendance: 29,458

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