Anthony Elanga brace helps Forest see off Ipswich and boost Champions League bid

A brace by Anthony Elanga helped Nottingham Forest to a comfortable 4-2 win at Ipswich to open up a six-point gap to Manchester City in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Forest had boosted their unexpected top-four charge with a late victory over City last Saturday and followed it up with a comprehensive display at Portman Road where three goals in six first-half minutes settled the contest.

After Nikola Milenkovic broke the deadlock in the 35th minute, Elanga twice punished slack Town defending to take his goal tally for the season to five.

Substitute Jota Silva added a fourth for Forest late on and while Jens Cajuste and George Hirst grabbed consolations, 18th-placed Ipswich are now nine points from safety after relegation rivals Wolves won at Southampton on a damaging day for the Suffolk club.

Forest arrived at Portman Road eager to clinch a third victory this season over Town after a recent FA Cup success, but Omari Hutchinson provided early urgency for the hosts with a wasted free-kick opportunity followed by a curled effort over.

Julio Enciso also had a shot deflected off target, but the visitors slowly started to create openings.

A poor pass by Leif Davis gifted an opportunity to Elliot Anderson, who fired wide via the back of team-mate Chris Wood before a Callum Hudson-Odoi cross almost crept in.

Lapses of concentration had proved costly time and time again for Ipswich this campaign and another produced the opener for Forest after 35 minutes.

A corner was given away cheaply after Alex Palmer’s clearance hit Cajuste and while Town dealt with the initial delivery, Liam Delap failed to adequately clear Nicolas Dominguez’s knock-down from a Hudson-Odoi cross and Milenkovic fired home.

It sparked an Ipswich collapse as within two minutes it was 2-0 and a third for Forest followed before half-time as Elanga helped himself to a brace.

Firstly, Anderson won back possession and released Swedish attacker Elanga, who raced away down the right before he cut inside Jacob Greaves and curled into the bottom corner.

It was another poor goal from an Ipswich point of view, but worse was to follow as a simple Milenkovic ball over the top evaded the home defence and Elanga sped away before firing past Palmer in the 41st minute.

Boos greeted the half-time whistle but home boss Kieran McKenna reacted with Greaves withdrawn and Ipswich tried to respond.

A dangerous corner by Davis had to be clawed away by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels before an unmarked Delap headed wide from another set-piece.

Town further built a head of steam with Davis firing wide before Delap had a lobbed effort cleared off the line by Milenkovic.

Forest remained a threat on the counter-attack, with Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White wasteful and Cajuste produced an 82nd-minute consolation when he curled home from 20 yards.

It sparked a flurry of late goals as a slick breakaway allowed Gibbs-White to tee up substitute Silva to make it 4-1 before Hirst headed home from Dara O’Shea cross in stoppage time for Ipswich.