Tottenham Hotspur defeat Nottingham Forest to keep their revival alive.

Tottenham increased their chances of finishing in the top four in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over struggling Nottingham Forest on Friday. Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski scored. Ange Postecoglou’s side took the lead late in the first half through Richarlison, and Kulusevski  after the break at the City Ground. Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma was sent off with 20 minutes remaining for a dangerous tackle, but the visitors held on for their second consecutive victory.

The north Londoners are tied on points with fourth-placed Manchester City, who play Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Tottenham’s confident performance provided more evidence that they have emerged from their autumn swoon after winning for the first time in six league games last weekend when they crushed Newcastle.

Postecoglou praised his first-goal scorer, saying, “Richarlison is a goalmouth monster.” I was very pleased with him during training and was confident he could do a good job for us.

“This is a tough game. Whatever you get must be earned. You feel like you’ve conceded a goal when the ball goes out for a throw-in.”

Postecoglou was less than pleased with Bissouma’s dismissal as Tottenham’s latest player.

“That’s something we’ve had to deal with a few times this year.” “You can’t keep doing that because we’ll pay a price for it,” he said.

“It’s a fine line between commitment to what we do and not overstepping the mark.”

Forest, on the other hand, are winless in their last six games and have only one victory in their last 13 games, putting pressure on manager Steve Cooper.

Forest are five points above the relegation zone, but that margin could shrink depending on the results of their fellow relegation candidates this weekend.

Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson was booed as he returned to Forest for the first time since his January transfer.

Johnson’s miscued cross drew a sarcastic cheer from the Forest fans before he nearly silenced them with a poked effort that was saved by Matt Turner.

After 32 minutes, the Wales international was forced off with blood pouring from a head wound, a worrying sight that prompted a sympathetic round of applause from the stands.

Spurs are back on track.

Forest tried to rattle Tottenham forward Son Heung-min with some crunching tackles, but the South Korean was unfazed, whipping in a cross that Pedro Porro headed wide.

Tottenham dominated possession and finished strongly in first-half stoppage time.

Kulusevski’s inswinging cross found Richarlison, who rose to head home from five yards after cleverly drifting away from his marker.

Richarlison had three goals in his last two games after going nearly three months without scoring.

Willy Boly squandered a golden opportunity to equalize early in the second half when he fired over from close range.

That signaled the start of a sustained Forest assault, with Guglielmo Vicario sprawling to repel Gibbs-White’s drive.

Forest thought they had equalized in the 58th minute when Anthony Elanga slotted home, but the goal was disallowed by VAR for offside against the former Manchester United forward.

Spurs, energised by their escape, doubled their lead in the 65th minute thanks to Turner’s blunder.

The Forest keeper’s poor clearance only reached Kulusevski, who danced into the area before drilling a powerful shot past Turner’s limp near-post save.

In the 70th minute, Bissouma was sent off for a high tackle on Ryan Yates after referee Jarrod Gillett was advised to consult the pitchside monitor.

In the closing stages, Forest pressed in vain, with Neco Williams’ deflected effort flashing just wide for a corner, forcing Vicario to make a superb save from Harry Toffolo’s header.