Nottingham Forest rounded off a brilliant 2024 by beating Everton 2-0 in the Premier League, leaving them in the top four of the Premier League table.
Forest beat Everton in what was another brilliant away performance for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, similar to Forest’s away win over Brentford before Christmas.
Goals from Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White were enough to seal the three points for Forest, in a game that could’ve been much simpler as Mike Dean believed James Tarkowski should’ve been sent off
Another added complication for Forest was the injury to star centre-back Murillo in the pre-match warm-up, leading to the Forest manager making a last-minute tactical tweak.
This left the pressure of filling in for the Brazilian resting on the shoulders of Morato, with Forest fans taking to social media to share their thoughts on how the defender deputized.
Forest fans praise Morato’s performance vs Everton
Morato played a key role in Forest keeping a clean sheet against Everton, leading to Forest fans voicing their delight at the Brazilian’s performance on social media.
One Forest fan said: “Morato has been superb”, whilst another added: “Morato is a beast, what a great signing. £16 million another robbery, great recruitment.”
Another Forest fan said: “The biggest compliment you can give Morato today is we didn’t miss Murillo at all. Absolutely brilliant performances from the beast.”
More Forest fans praised Morato’s display, with one saying: “Can we talk about how good Morato is? Aerials, tackles, anything, he’s got it. Was absolutely unreal today. Brick wall.” With another simply adding: “Morato by the way, what a centre-back.”
Morato’s stats vs Everton show he can deputise for Murillo
Whilst not being as impressive on the ball as Murillo, Morato’s commanding defensive display against Everton showed that he is a more than capable replacement for his Brazilian compatriot.
Morato won 75% of his tackles whilst also producing an incredible seven headed clearances, alongside a singular interception.
He also won four duels against Everton’s physical front-men and was only dribbled past once, a respectable figure given his lack of minutes in a back four this season.
With the likes of Real Madrid spotted scouting Murillo this season, Morato’s display was even more important. If the unthinkable happens and Murillo is either injured long-term or poached by the European elite, the Forest squad already boasts a ready-made replacement.
Nottingham Forest fans all say the same thing about Morato after Murillo’s brutal injury blow vs Everton
