Anthony Elanga believes Nottingham Forest will afford him the opportunities to grow as a player that Manchester United didn’t after he scored the winning goal against Chelsea on Saturday.
The Tricky Trees had a dismal record on the road last season, securing just one away victory, but they managed to claim a famous win at Stamford Bridge thanks to their £15 million summer signing.
Forest capitalised on Moises Caicedo’s failure to control the ball in midfield as Taiwo Awoniyi played Elanga through to score the game’s only goal.
After the final whistle the Swedish winger said it was a “really big” result for the club, who narrowly lost their previous two away games to Arsenal and his former team, Man United.
“I feel like the last three games we have been close to winning,” Elanga said. “We worked hard and defended well. When we won it back, I was quick enough. The manager has congratulated us and told us we deserved to win.
“I want to score goals and as soon as I saw Taiwo pass the ball I just wanted to attack the space. I know where the goal is so it was about keeping my composure and hitting it low and quick.
“I need to play to build my confidence. I didn’t get to do that much at United but now that I am here I feel like I have the confidence of the manager and now hopefully these opportunities will turn into starts and more goals and assists.
“We can really build on this and keep pushing.”
Forest are back at the City Ground for their next game when they host Burnley on September 18.
