BURNLEY, England (AP) — Chris Wood made certain of Nottingham Forest’s Premier League status by scoring both goals in a 2-1 final-day win over already relegated Burnley on Sunday.
Forest had all but assured another season in the top flight as it entered the day three points ahead of Luton and with a 12-goal cushion in goal difference, and Wood’s two goals inside the opening 15 minutes removed any remaining doubt.
Josh Cullen pulled one back with a deflected strike for the hosts in the 72nd minute but there was never any drama as Luton lost 4-2 to Fulham to go down alongside Burnley and Sheffield United.
Wood, who spent five years at Burnley and remains the club’s top scorer in the Premier League, took his season tally to 15 goals for Forest.
He needed only 76 seconds to open the scoring after prodding home a cross from Anthony Elanga. He scored his second in the 14th but had to wait nearly two minutes longer for the VAR to overturn an initial offside decision after he got a toe to Ryan Yates’ shot to put it beyond the reach of Burnley goalkeeper Aro Muric.
Burnley needed a huge stroke of luck to get back into it as Cullen’s shot took a big deflection, but Wilson Odobert wasted a late chance to equalize. ___
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