Gibbs-White struck for Forest as they twice came from behind for the point on Wednesday night.
“He is a special player,” Pereira said of Gibbs-White. “He has a lot of quality. He smells the spaces, he smells the opportunities - it was a beautiful goal.
“But Morgan is not only a fantastic player, he is a leader. He has the character that we need. He is a fighter and this is the spirit I want to see in my team. Murillo was the same at the end. He played at a high level.
“Elliot, I thought today that after 60 or 70 minutes I would need to take him off, as I did not believe he would have the energy and intensity that we would need here. But it was a surprise for me, because he had the energy until the end and he has the quality.”
Forest were trailing 1-0 at halftime and Pereira explained what he told his players.
"I told them to understand the spaces they were conceding to us,” Pereira said of his half-time team-talk. “I told them to take the ball from the pressure and find the spaces. And risk a bit. Football is not just about organisation, it is about talent and feeling confident to express themselves.
“We don't need just talent, but characters. They have spirit.
“We came to play our game, try to be organised, wait for the time to attack, and we did well. We scored two fantastic goals. We competed for the points, trying to win the game. They tried to win the game. We had a good spirit, we need that for the next games."