Nottingham Forest started the 2025/26 season with a emphatic 3-1 win against Brentford on the City Ground. For Forest’s goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa, however, it was a day to forget – although he may already have it.
After Chris Wood had scored the goal just five minutes after the start of the game, Barbosa celebrated wildly and jumped from his seat – just to hit his head directly on the shelter and bleed it heavily.
The Portuguese coach was quickly visited by the medical staff. Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo revealed after the game that Barbosa needs stitches to repair a significant cut on his head.
“He has six stitches!” Said Santo. “It was an evil. A bad one. He was dizzy.”
As for the rest of the game-in the Forest Forest 3-0 in half-time thanks to a clip made of wood and a breathtaking diving head from the summer, who signed Dan Ndoye, Santo was enthusiastic.
“I’m happy,” he said after the game. “The way we started the game was astonishing. We played well, we dominated, we checked the goal in the first five minutes that colonized the team and the energy of the stadium.”
One thing is certain: Barbosa definitely felt this energy – and the sharp end of the shelter – more than most others.