Abdoulaye Doucoure scored a late winner for Everton at the City Ground to beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 and dent their hopes of Champions League qualification.

The game looked to be reaching a stalemate until Dwight McNeil flooded forward on the counter and found Doucoure on the left, before the midfielder curled home the only goal with seconds to go.

Pressure now ramps up on Forest after suffering back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, with Manchester City also securing an emphatic 5-2 win against Crystal Palace in the early kick-off on Saturday to move within two points of Nuno Espirito Santo's side in third.

It was a performance that lacked their usual pace and power going forward. Chris Wood returned to the line-up after missing three games through injury but Forest were second best for much of the fixture, as Everton went on to secure what they deserved from a positive display.

Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison asked regular questions of Forest and it was the latter who came closest to breaking the deadlock in the second half when his effort whistled just over the bar from close range.

Callum Hudson-Odoi - in the absence of Anthony Elanga, who was limited to a role off the bench due to fitness concerns - was the lone bright spark for his side, testing Jordan Pickford on two occasions, but could only force routine saves out of the England international.

On the same day that fellow Champions League chasers Aston Villa also secured three points against Southampton, the race for the top five is far from over.

Forest's next match against Tottenham, live on Sky Sports, now becomes imperative to achieving the European dream that the Tricky Trees are so desperate for.