Nottingham Forest underlined their top-four credentials with a comfortable Premier League win over relegation-threatened Ipswich at Portman Road.
The result moves Forest just a point behind second-placed Arsenal – who face Chelsea on Sunday – and ever closer to Champions League football next term.
On an afternoon when Nuno Espirito Santo celebrated his 50th top-flight match in charge of Forest, his side ruthlessly exposed Ipswich’s defensive frailties in a devastating seven-minute period during the first half.
Nikola Milenkovic opened the scoring for the visitors with a rising shot from eight yards after home forward Liam Delap had inadvertently nodded the ball into the Serbia defender’s path.
And just over two minutes later Forest doubled their lead, as the Tractor Boys imploded.
Elliot Anderson picked out Anthony Elanga down the right and the winger was allowed to run completely unchallenged from just inside the Ipswich half before dispatching a low effort into the far corner from 15 yards out.
Some shambolic home defending contributed to Elanga’s second and Forest’s third.
This time the 22-year-old Sweden winger nipped in between three home players and slipped the ball past Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer, after Milenkovic’s long punt forward had drifted over its intended target Chris Wood.
While Jens Cajuste pulled a goal back for the hosts, with a superb curling effort after pirouetting away from Ryan Yates in midfield, Jota Silva re-established Forest’s three-goal cushion after being played in by the influential Morgan Gibbs-White.
However, George Hirst’s late goal at least allowed the home side to end the contest on a positive note.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich remain 18th – and are the only club in the top four divisions of English football without a league win in 2025.
Ipswich flatter to deceive as Forest grow in confidence
Ipswich began the afternoon in positive fashion, with the recalled Omari Hutchinson looking particularly lively down the right.
However, promising moments in attack too often failed to translate into clear-cut chances and the Tractor Boys once again showed few signs they will be able to extricate themselves from the trouble they find themselves in at the bottom of the table.
In contrast, Forest – buoyed by their victory over Manchester City a week ago – look like a side increasingly confident they will be playing in Europe’s elite club competition next term.
Few exude that more than Gibbs-White, who was surprisingly overlooked when Thomas Tuchel named his first England squad on Friday.
The 25-year-old was always available to receive the ball, is capable of gliding away from opponents and timed his pass to perfection to allow Silva to score Forest’s fourth.
Alongside him Anderson produced an industrious shift in the heart of midfield, breaking down play and delivering a simple but effective pass that set Elanga away for his first goal.
While Elanga will grab the headlines for his two-goal contribution, both Anderson and Gibbs-White laid the foundations for another outstanding display by Nuno’s side, who are now six points clear of fifth-placed City.