When Anthony Taylor blew his whistle to signal full-time, Nuno Espirito Santo was not the only one in Nottingham Forest colors who looked like he needed to sit back.
From 3-0 up at half-time, Forest had held on through 12 minutes of stoppage time as the effort they showed to keep Liverpool level five days ago began to take its toll. Had it not been for Ola Aina's brilliant goal-line clearance, they would have lost two points to Southampton, who have only managed six all season.
Was this late resistance a sign of Forest's resilience or an indication that they might struggle to keep up? Both can be true. After such a grueling night against Arne Slot's men, things were never easy for Forest here.
The question now is whether they can regain energy for the challenges ahead, starting at Bournemouth on Saturday. However, even if the title is out of reach, Forest certainly have the tools to reach next season's Champions League.
“We know who we are, our strengths and our weaknesses, and we will move forward with that,” Nuno said. 'What guides us are our performance levels. We want to continue improving as a team because there are many things we need to improve. Aina's clearance was brilliant but I hope set pieces don't become a problem for us.
“The second half was strange. “So many stops that the game did not flow and that always helps the team trying to get back into the game.”
Nottingham Forest fought back against Southampton to win 3-2 at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon.
Forest remain third and well positioned to qualify for the Champions League next season
Chris Wood has scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season, the best campaign in his history.
Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi (later injured) and Chris Wood found the net in the first half, with Jan Bednarek's rare goal and Paul Onuachu's late header keeping Ivan Juric's men interested until the end .
But there were other aspects of this match, especially in the first half, that showed Forest's mettle. The first of them, Aina's acrobatics to stop Bednarek with a header in the second and score a point for the visitors.
“Ola is like a son to me,” said Juric, who coached the Nigerian at Torino. 'We had a really good relationship. Today he saved a goal and played an excellent game. He is an incredible player for the Premier League.
'What I saw in the last 30 or 40 minutes is what I want from my team. But Forest are competitive: they defend down low and have exceptional players who can win games.'
We previously looked at the more subtle qualities that have helped Forest perform so well this quarter. Instead of celebrating Anderson's 11th-minute goal, Nuno called midfielder Nicolás Domínguez to the touchline to explain how he wanted the Argentine to improve his positioning out of possession.
Anthony Elanga catches the eye for his attacking play, but with Forest a goal up, the winger won a crucial header to clear a Saints corner.
When they lost possession just inside the Saints half, Morgan Gibbs-White instantly ran back and recovered the ball from Cameron Archer. Wood's header for the third from Aina's cross – his 20th of the season for Forest and New Zealand – was no more important than the way he charged towards Flynn Downes to stop the midfielder's shot at the source.
On the contrary, there was nothing to enjoy about Southampton's defensive work before the break, which seems to betray a group of players who know they are going down and have lost the desire to avoid it.
Southampton are bottom and are yet to win in the league under manager Ivan Juric.
The Saints fought back with two goals in the second half, but it was too little too late for them.
Some will move on (plus a big sign-up fee, naturally), and while those who stay will have their salaries cut, they won't have a hard time paying the bills. Compare that to club employees who earn a fraction of what these players earn and are often the first to suffer when costs are cut after relegation.
What would they have thought when no Saints player thought to pick up Gibbs-White in center field, allowing him to throw a Neco Williams throw-in into the path of Anderson? Or when Mateus Fernandes made little effort to prevent Anderson from advancing and scoring?
How about the marking (or lack thereof) that allowed Wood to climb unopposed and guide Aina's shot past Aaron Ramsdale? At least their second-half performance showed some pride, although Forest should have made it four shortly after the break when Elanga's shot was saved and Gibbs-White's follow-up was blocked on the line.
Out of nowhere, Southampton found a way back when three substitutes combined for a bizarre goal. Ryan Manning's free kick was headed by Onuachu towards Lesley Ugochukwu, whose 20-yard shot hit Bednarek's heel and went over a helpless Matz Sels.
Only VAR prevented Saints from conceding the fourth after another desperate defense. Elanga's free kick was met by Nikola Milenkovic, who had moved away from his markers, and Aaron Ramsdale somehow lost the ball above the seven line, although it was headed straight for him. Luckily for the Saints goalkeeper, the goal was disallowed because Wood was deemed to have impeded Ugochukwu.
Then it was Wood's turn to embarrass himself when he found his feet tangled and deflected Jota Silva's header, for the injured Hudson-Odoi, over the top from inside the six-yard box. Southampton attempted to pile on the pressure with a series of high balls and shortly after the fourth official signaled 12 minute injury time, Onuachu rose at the near post to head home Fernandes' corner. Bednarek thought he had done the same with another Fernandes shot only for Aina to somehow hook the ball away from his position at the far post.