Nottingham Forest made it two wins from three pre-season friendlies as they beat Levante 2-1 in their third run-out of the summer.

It took less than a minute for the Reds to get on the scoresheet at their opponents’ training ground in Spain. An interception followed by a neat pass from Remo Freuler set Ryan Yates free, and he drove a low finish beyond the keeper.

George Shelvey had to make a couple of strong saves to keep the visitors ahead amid an entertaining start, including pushing the ball onto the bar with a fingertip stop. But they made it 2-0 with little more than 20 minutes gone.

Danilo and Ryan Yates linked up well as they burst forward. And when the latter’s ball ricocheted into the path of his Brazilian teammate, he fired home with his right foot.

Levante saw most of the possession in the first half, though, and they did look dangerous when they pressed. Alejandro Cantero pulled a goal back in the 25th minute with a terrific strike from the edge of the area.

Forest were then reduced to 10 men just before the interval, when Taiwo Awoniyi was shown a red card for an off the ball incident. It led to a very scrappy second half, with few chances at either end of the pitch and no further changes to the scoreline. Here’s Reds reporter Sarah Clapson’s verdict on the Forest players from today’s game.

George Shelvey: Made some really good saves in the first half, including one at stretch to push the ball onto the bar. Should have plenty of suitors as he seeks a loan move.

Mohamed Drager: With no Neco Williams or Serge Aurier in the squad, the returning loanee got another run-out. Still seems likely he will be one of the players who move on this summer.

Willy Boly: Generally did OK as he got some more minutes. Levante had plenty of the ball but were kept at arm’s length for most of the first half.

Joe Worrall: Won a fair few headers, particularly in the second half as the hosts tried to capitalise on the numerical advantage. Defended well, which was some going in that heat.

Scott McKenna: Had to keep his cool at one stage as it got a bit tetchy early in the second half, following Awoniyi’s sending off. Solid at the back.

Josh Powell: Another opportunity for the youngster, who continues to impress. He’s having a great pre-season and is making the most of his chance. Made some terrific runs.

Cheikhou Kouyate: Involved in a promising move early on, but otherwise had a pretty quiet game as the hosts dominated possession before the break.