Tottenham slipped to another defeat and fell further off the European pace thanks to Anthony Elanga's first-half winner at The City Ground.
The result moves Nottingham Forest up to third in the Premier League table - at least temporarily - while Ange Postecoglou's Spurs are way down in the 11th.
Those hoping for a Boxing Day goal-fest were left disappointed, but there was still plenty of action for fans of either side to sink their teeth into.
Here, Express Sport takes you through how each Tottenham player performed on the day, including four 5/10s who Postecoglou undoubtedly wanted more from...
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Tottenham player ratings vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1)
Fraser Forster: 5
Passing out from the back doesn't inspire confidence. A bit ragged overall. Guglielmo Vicario will continue to be a big miss if he is out until March, as Spurs fear he will be.
Djed Spence: 5 (sent off)
Gave the ball away high up the pitch for Elanga's winner and received two yellow cards in the second half. A shame, because his general play going both ways was otherwise good. A pair of vital tackles on Chris Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi were particularly eye-catching.
Radu Dragusin: 5 (booked) (Bissouma, 87)
A handful of impressive tackles and bursts forward were offset by him losing the ball one too many times and comitting a silly foul on Hudson-Odoi, which got him booked.
Archie Gray: 6
The teenager backed off too much for Elanga's goal and was partly to blame but otherwise didn't do much wrong on a tricky afternoon.
Destiny Udogie: 6 (Porro, 81)
Got burned for pace by Elanga for Forest's winner, but not many in the Premier League would have been able to keep up.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 6 (Bergvall, 64)
Brings some much-needed experience to Postecoglou's injury-hit squad. A solid but unspectacular display in his first appearance for over six weeks.
Pape Sarr: 6 (Maddison, 64)
A quiet Boxing Day for the Senegalese, who was sacrificed just after the hour mark.
Brennan Johnson: 8
Tottenham's best player on the day. Tested Matz Sels with a powerful low effort in the first half, saw another strike tipped over before the break, and produced a superb turn in the box to set up another chance in the second period. Unlucky not to come away with a goal against his former club.
Dejan Kulusevski: 7
The Swede's interception set up a good chance for Son Heung-min. Then created an opening for Johnson with great feet and an accurate pass.
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Son Heung-min: 5 (Werner, 81)
Produced only a tame effort after Kulusevski set up a decent opportunity, and came up with a handful of uncharacteristic misplaced passes.
Some good hold-up play and was involved in the contest, even though no game-changing chances fell his way in the East Midlands.
SUBS
Lucas Bergvall: 6
A quiet half-hour for the youngster as Forest scrambled to protect their lead.
James Maddison: 6 (booked)
A couple of promising early glimpses but failed to drag Spurs back into the tie.
Pedro Porro: N/A
A late addition.
Timo Werner: N/A
A late addition.
Yves Bissouma: N/A
A late addition.
