Abdoulaye Doucouré delivered a crushing blow to Nottingham Forest’s Champions League dreams on Saturday, scoring a dramatic stoppage-time winner to seal a 1-0 victory for Everton at the City Ground. The late strike not only earned the Toffees a crucial three points but also left Forest’s top-four hopes hanging in the balance.

The Premier League clash was a tightly contested affair with few clear-cut chances. Both teams struggled to impose themselves in the first half. Everton’s Jack Harrison came closest early on, blasting over from the edge of the box, while Forest's Callum Hudson-Odoi looked the most likely to unlock the Everton defense with two decent efforts on goal both denied by Jordan Pickford.

With the match seemingly heading for a draw, disaster struck for the home side deep into added time. A mistake by Forest defender Murillo allowed Dwight McNeil to pounce on a loose ball and burst forward. The substitute showed composure to square the ball to Doucouré, who calmly slotted past Matz Sels to send the Everton bench into wild celebration.

The goal timed at 90+4 minutes proved to be the final twist in a match that had offered little in the way of goalmouth action until the dying moments. For Nottingham Forest, the loss was their second in a row following a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend, and it opened the door for Manchester City to narrow the gap in the race for a Champions League spot. Forest now sits just two points ahead of the defending champions.

Everton, meanwhile, have pulled themselves into relative safety. The win lifts them above Tottenham Hotspur into 14th place, 18 points clear of the relegation zone, effectively securing their Premier League status for another season.

Sean Dyche praised the discipline and resilience of his side post-match.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it was everything you want in a performance like this grit, structure, and seizing the moment.”

Nottingham Forest will need to regroup quickly as they travel to face Tottenham Hotspur on April 21 in what now shapes up to be a decisive fixture in the battle for European football. Everton will hope to carry their momentum into their April 19 home clash against Manchester City.