Chris Wood scored a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest returned to winning ways with a magnificent 7-0 rout of Brighton & Hove Albion at the City Ground.
Nuno Espirito Santo's team showed no signs of being rocked by their 5-0 defeat at AFC Bournemouth last weekend, going two better against Fabian Hurzeler's error-prone side.
TV Info - Broadcasters
A Lewis Dunk own goal set Forest on their way, then Anthony Elanga helped himself to three assists as Brighton's backline was overwhelmed, teeing up Morgan Gibbs-White for one goal and two for Wood.
Wood completed his treble from the spot after 69 minutes, then Neco Williams and Jota Silva added further gloss to the scoreline in the dying stages.
Forest's biggest ever Premier League victory takes them level on 47 points with second-placed Arsenal, who face Manchester City on Sunday. Brighton stay ninth, six points adrift of the top six.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
23 | +35 | 56 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
23 | +23 | 47 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
24 | +13 | 47 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
23 | +17 | 41 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
24 | +13 | 41 |
How the match unfolded
Forest went ahead from their first attack 12 minutes in. Gibbs-White crossed from the right, and Dunk’s outstretched boot diverted the ball into his own net.
Their second goal arrived after 25 minutes as Gibbs-White nodded Elanga's corner home at the near post.
Williams then struck the base of a post from 20 yards out, and the rampant hosts had a third when Wood nodded an Elanga cross home, with the goal given on-pitch and confirmed by VAR following a check for offside.
Danny Welbeck saw a crashing effort pushed onto the underside of the crossbar by Matz Sels shortly before half-time, with the ball landing inches short of crossing the goal line.
How close Welbeck was to scoring
Brighton pushed in the early stages of the second half, but Wood killed any slim hopes of a fightback with a 64th-minute tap-in, and he then kept his cool from 12 yards to make it 5-0 after Tariq Lamptey fouled Gibbs-White.
Forest were not done there, though, as Williams blasted in a sixth from close range before Silva drilled home a seventh, having intercepted a dismal pass from Bart Verbruggen.
Magnificent seven for Forest
With Forest suffering a chastening defeat against fellow surprise package Bournemouth last time out, some were left wondering if their momentum might have been stunted.
Nuno demanded a reaction at home to another side harbouring European aspirations, and his team certainly did not let him down, with Gibbs-White, Elanga and Wood taking centre-stage.
Forest's last meeting with Brighton, a 2-2 draw at the Amex Stadium last September, was not one to remember for Gibbs-White, who was sent off for a scything challenge on Joao Pedro. But he was everywhere in the first half of Saturday's game, forcing Dunk's own goal with a threatening cross into the six-yard box then showing great desire to power Elanga's corner home.
Elanga has also enjoyed an excellent season, and three pinpoint crosses earned the former Manchester United winger three assists, taking him to eight for the season.
Wood was the beneficiary of two of those and later showed great composure to send Verbruggen the wrong way from the spot. He now has 17 Premier League goals this season, with only Stan Collymore in 1994/95 (22) netting more for Forest in a single campaign.
Even after Nuno took the opportunity to give Wood and Gibbs-White a rest, Forest continued to hunt further goals and saw Williams and Silva chip in late on.
It all amounted to a superb response from Forest, who have won eight of their last 10 league games. A trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham is next up in two weeks' time.
Seagulls' wings clipped
Back-to-back victories over Ipswich Town and Manchester United had reignited Brighton's hunt for European qualification, after they went eight games without a win in the Premier League between late November and early January.
However, inconsistency has been the story of their campaign, and they could not find a way through in last week's 1-0 home loss to Everton despite spending much of that game camped inside the Toffees' half.
On Saturday, it was a different shortcoming that cost them. Brighton did carve out chances at the City Ground, and it could be argued that a 3-0 half-time lead flattered Forest somewhat.
Perhaps most costly was a squandered opportunity from Yankuba Minteh, who broke through on goal but shot straight at Sels just two minutes after Forest's second of the game. At 3-0, Welbeck was mere inches away from getting Brighton back in the game.
Ultimately, however, the Seagulls were undone by an inability to keep things tight at the other end. Forest's seventh goal summed up their display, as Verbruggen passed straight to a grateful Silva on the edge of the box and was given no chance by the substitute's finish.
Brighton's 38 goals conceded this season are the most of any team in the top half of the table, and with Chelsea up next on February 14, they simply must improve at the back.
Club reports
What the managers said
Nuno Espirito Santo: "The response on the pitch from the players was beyond our expectations. We were concerned, we wanted to put it right because last week wasn't good enough and they were aware of that and the response was great."
Fabian Hurzeler: "We said we want to play with courage, we wanted to play offensively and in the end, you could say it was a mistake. In the end, today we were not good enough. You need to have a balance between defence and controlling the ball in possession. We had some big chances and their goalkeeper was amazing. Out of possession, we were not on the field today."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Nottingham Forest are only the second side in Premier League history to lose a game by 5+ goals (5-0 vs Bournemouth last weekend) and then follow it up by immediately winning their next game in the competition by 5+ goals, after Sheffield Wednesday in November 1997 (1-6 v Man Utd, 5-0 v Bolton).
Nottingham Forest secured their biggest league victory (in any division) since beating Chelsea 7-0 at the City Ground in the top-flight back in April 1991. Meanwhile, this was Brighton’s heaviest league defeat since a 9-0 loss at Middlesbrough on the opening day of the 1958-59 season in the second tier.
Chris Wood became the first Nottingham Forest player to score a top-flight hat-trick at the City Ground since Nigel Clough against QPR in December 1987.
Lewis Dunk has scored seven own goals in the Premier League with only Richard Dunne (10) putting through his own net on more occasions in the competition’s history. Indeed, since the start of their first Premier League campaign in 2017-18, Brighton have scored more own goals than any other side (19).
