Tottenham beats Nottingham Forest for back-to-back wins. Pressure mounts on Steve Cooper

By: The Associated Press Posted: 4:24 PM CST Friday, Dec. 15, 2023 Last Modified: 4:46 PM CST Friday, Dec. 15, 2023

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Dejan Kulusevski set up a goal and scored another as Tottenham gained ground on the top four by beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the English Premier League on Friday.

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NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Dejan Kulusevski set up a goal and scored another as Tottenham gained ground on the top four by beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the English Premier League on Friday.

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NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Dejan Kulusevski set up a goal and scored another as Tottenham gained ground on the top four by beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the English Premier League on Friday.

The Sweden midfielder collected goalkeeper Matt Turner’s sloppy clearance and fired through the U.S. international’s hands from a tight angle in the 65th minute.

Earlier, Kulusevski sent a cross for Richarlison to head into the net in first-half stoppage time.

Nottingham Forest's head coach Steve Cooper holds the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur at City ground in Nottingham, England, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Spurs played with 10 men after the 70th when Yves Bissouma was red-carded for a studs-up foul on Ryan Yates.

They have won two in a row after snapping a five-game winless slide on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Newcastle, and were level on points with fourth-placed Manchester City. City led on goal difference ahead of its game against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Forest manager Steve Cooper will surely face more pressure after picking up just one point in the last six games. Forest has one win in its past 13 matches. It is in 16th place, five points above the relegation zone.

The home team briefly thought it equalized through Anthony Elanga from close range just before the hour mark, but he was ruled offside through VAR.

Minutes later, it was 2-0. After Kulusevski’s goal, Turner pounded the turf with both hands, lowered his head and covered his face.

Turner made an early stop on Son Heung-min’s shot but couldn’t get to Kulusevski’s left-footed in-swinging cross from the right side in first-half stoppage time. Richarlison rose high over a defender and headed it home from close range.

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou stands by the touchline during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Spurs winger Brennan Johnson, a Forest academy graduate, was subbed off in the 32nd after taking a blow to the head. The Wales international joined Tottenham this summer on a $60 million transfer, which is a club-record sale for Forest.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer