Nottingham Forest, who have been struggling to find form in the Premier League this season, managed to secure a valuable point in a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Sunday, thanks to a fantastic strike from Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The former Chelsea forward scored a stunning goal, curling the ball from outside the box, after a well-drilled free-kick routine by Forest in the first-half stoppage time.
This goal drew his side level after they fell behind to an early Bournemouth goal.
Bournemouth started the match brightly and took the lead in the fifth minute from a corner taken by Lloyd Kelly.
Justin Kluivert fired the ball into the net from point-blank range after latching onto Luis Sinisterra’s knock-on.
Forest served the first notice of their attacking intentions just five minutes after falling behind when Taiwo Awoniyi was played through by Morgan Gibbs-White, but the Nigerian striker shot straight at Neto in the Bournemouth goal.
As the first half progressed, the visitors grew into the match and started putting pressure on the Bournemouth defense.
Ryan Yates had a golden opportunity in the 24th minute after being picked out by Murillo following a deep free-kick that sparked panic in the Bournemouth defense, but he shot tamely straight at Neto from close range.
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Bournemouth did not learn from that scare and Hudson-Odoi’s goal in the 45th minute came from a free-kick in a similar position, with a ball swung in from right to left causing mayhem in the hosts’ back line once again.
Hudson-Odoi latched onto the loose ball just outside the Bournemouth area, cut in on his right foot, and unleashed an unstoppable shot that curled inside the far post.
After the break, the match became scrappy, with a series of niggling fouls disrupting the flow of the game.
Neither side was able to gain the upper hand, and it seemed as though the match would end in a draw.
However, Bournemouth’s substitute Philip Billing was shown a straight red card for a nasty foul on Hudson-Odoi in the 84th minute, reducing the hosts to 10 men.
Despite their numerical advantage, Forest could not capitalize on the situation, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The point moved Forest up a place to 16th in the table on 21 points, above Luton Town. Bournemouth climbed above Fulham into 12th place.
Hudson-Odoi, who scored his second league goal of the season, spoke to Sky Sports after the match, saying that he felt he was getting more confident and wanted to score more goals for the team.
