Losing a Champions League group match did not affect the morale of the Forest team. When they returned to the Premier League competition, the Forest team defeated Portsmouth in the City Ground stadium by 2:0. In five rounds of the league competition, other than the postponement of the third round, the Forest team had won thrice and conceded once, which gave them a score of nine points. They were still within the first block.
The most surprising team this season so far was no longer the Forest team. It was not remarkable at this point if Twain's team performed well because everyone knew that the Forest team had the ability.
It was Charlton's performance that many people had not expected. After the five rounds of competition, Charlton won four out of four games with one more game to make up. They had twelve points and were placed second in the league, at the heels of the top-ranked Chelsea.
