Trending 
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo admitted frustration and emotional tension were running high after club owner Evangelos Marinakis confronted him on the pitch following a damaging 2-2 draw with relegated Leicester City on Sunday.
The result at the City Ground dented Forest’s chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, with their fate now out of their own hands heading into the final stretch of the Premier League campaign.
Marinakis appeared visibly agitated after substitute Facundo Buonanotte struck late to rescue a point for the Foxes, sparking a tense exchange between the Greek owner and Nuno after the final whistle.
“Today was a hard day for everyone connected with the club,” Nuno told Sky Sports. “Champions League qualification was in our control — now, it’s not. But we haven’t been good enough, particularly in defence, and that’s costly.”
Addressing the confrontation with Marinakis, the Portuguese manager pointed to a substitution mix-up involving Taiwo Awoniyi as the source of tension.
“There was confusion,” Nuno explained. “We intended a different change, but ended up playing with one man less temporarily. The information was that Taiwo could carry on, but then he couldn’t — it’s frustrating for everyone involved.”
“Football is full of emotion. It’s hard to contain, especially when expectations are high and the fans were fantastic today.”
Earlier in the season, Forest had been on course for a surprise top-four finish, but a poor run of just one win from their last six matches has seen them slip to the periphery of the Champions League race.
Despite the setback, the draw secured Forest a top-seven finish — their first qualification for European football in nearly three decades, after gaining promotion to the top flight just three years ago.
Chris Wood’s 20th goal of the campaign appeared to have set Forest on course for victory after Morgan Gibbs-White cancelled out Conor Coady’s opener, but Buonanotte’s late effort dashed their hopes of taking all three points.
Even with a strong finish — including a final-day clash against Chelsea — Forest will need favours from rivals Aston Villa, Manchester City or Newcastle to finish inside the top five.
“It’s not over — we go again,” Nuno said. “It’s no longer up to us, but we fight until the end.”
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose side had already been relegated, praised the determination shown by his players.
“We’ve turned things around since that game against Brighton, where it all looked lost,” he said. “We’re planning for the future now and the players have responded to that vision.”
