Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has praised defender Murillo following his performance against Crystal Palace.
On Saturday evening, Forest traveled to Selhurst Park in search of a rare Premier League away win.
Cooper’s team would have won on another day, with Murillo playing a major role in two key chances.
Morgan Gibbs-White lobbed the ball over Sam Johnstone and onto the post after the Brazilian defender sent a superb ball over the top of the Palace back line.
Murillo then attempted to take control of the situation by dancing past Palace players and forcing two saves from Johnstone.
Forest took 16 shots but just couldn’t find a winner, instead having to settle for a 0-0 draw in South London.
Nottingham Forest defender Steve Cooper is praised by Steve Cooper. Murillo Forest appears to have signed a true cult hero.
On the eve of deadline day, the centre defender joined Forest from Corinthians for roughly £15 million.
Murillo was outstanding against Brentford last week and even more so versus Palace.
Murillo is already popular among fans, and Cooper appears to agree.
Cooper told BBC Sport after Saturday’s triumph that he knows the focus will be on Murillo’s brilliant run forward, but he wanted to attract attention to his defence.
Cooper stated that Murillo is doing well on the nasty side of the game despite the fact that he is still adjusting to life in England.
Cooper added that Murillo has been impressing in training and we are now seeing that in the Premier League.
“That will catch the attention, of course – I wish he’d scored, but maybe that’s next,” said Cooper. “He defended very well, positionally he was really good, he was composed and you want your centre backs to be able to do both parts of the game sometimes.”
“We know that we’re going to have to defend at times more than we attack, that’s fine, there is no shame in that, and we need centre backs to do what our pair did tonight.”
“If Murillo is doing that at 21, when he’s learning the language and he’s not long in the country, then the signs are good. He’s a really good boy, we’re really enjoying working with him. We held him back a little bit when he first came over, we knew we were signing a talent anyway but then to see him in training, it was just a matter of time of trying to pick the right moment to put him in,” he added.
Murillo stats v Crystal Palace
The 21-year-old looks to have enormous potential but he is making a very immediate impact in a Forest shirt.
Murillo was outstanding on Saturday night, racking up two tackles, three clearances, one blocked shot and one successful aerial duel.
Going forward, Murillo notched two key passes, two shots on target and two successful dribbles, showing off his ability on the ball.
Forest will have to manage expectations a little after Saturday’s superb display, but Murillo appears to be a top talent not just for the future, but for right now too.
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