Nottingham Forest kicked off the 2025/26 season in style with an emphatic 3-1 win over Brentford at the City Ground. For Forest’s goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa, however, it was a day to forget – though perhaps he already has.
After Chris Wood opened the scoring just five minutes into the match, Barbosa celebrated wildly, leaping from his seat – only to smash his head straight on the dugout, leaving him bleeding heavily.
The Portuguese coach was quickly attended to by medical personnel, with Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo revealing after the game that Barbosa needed stitches to fix a significant cut on his head.
“He has six stitches!†Santo said. “It was a nasty one. A bad one. He was dizzy.â€
Chris Wood opened the scoring after just five minutes against Brentford. / Clive Mason/GettyImages
As for the rest of the match – which saw Forest 3-0 up by half-time thanks to a brace from Wood and a stunning diving header from summer signing Dan Ndoye – Santo was unreservedly thrilled.
“I am delighted,†he said after the match. “The way we started the game was amazing. We played well, we dominated, we controlled the goal in the first five minutes settled the team and the energy of the stadium.â€
One thingâ€s for sure: Barbosa definitely felt that energy – and the sharp end of the dugout – more than most.
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