Nottingham Forest 7-0 Brighton: Chris Wood hat-trick helps hosts thump Seagulls

Nottingham Forest responded emphatically to their 5-0 thrashing by Bournemouth last weekend with a 7-0 demolition of Brighton at their home ground, the City Ground. Chris Wood stole the show with a hat-trick. The previous loss at the Vitality Stadium was Forest's first defeat since early December, but they quickly bounced back in front of their home fans, securing the club's biggest-ever Premier League victory.

Forest took the lead in the 12th minute when Lewis Dunk inadvertently deflected a low cross from Morgan Gibbs-White into his own net. Gibbs-White then doubled the lead with a header from an Anthony Elanga corner. Just over half an hour in, Wood headed in a cross from Elanga to make it 3-0, marking his 15th Premier League goal of the season, setting a new personal single-season record.

Brighton had chances to score before halftime, with Yancuba Minteh's one-on-one shot being saved by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, and Danny Welbeck's shot hitting the underside of the crossbar and failing to cross the goal line. Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler made three substitutions at halftime in an attempt to stem the tide, but Wood scored again in the 64th minute, once again from an Elanga pass, to make it 4-0.

Just minutes later, Tariq Lamptey brought down Gibbs-White in the box during a Forest corner, giving Wood a penalty opportunity. The 33-year-old New Zealand striker sent Bart Verbruggen the wrong way to make it 5-0, becoming the first Forest player to score a home hat-trick since Nigel Clough against Queens Park Rangers in December 1987. Subsequently, Welsh defender Neco Williams took advantage of an opportunity in the box to extend the lead to 6-0. In stoppage time, Jota Silva capitalized on a poor pass from Verbruggen, scoring with a low shot to complete the 7-0 rout, Forest's biggest league win since beating Chelsea 7-0 in the old First Division in April 1991.

Nuno Espírito Santo responded to last Saturday’s loss on the south coast by switching to a back three and giving Brazilian midfielder Danilo his first start since fracturing his ankle in the season opener against Bournemouth. This formation change aimed to make the team more compact and give the attacking players more freedom in the final third, which proved to be a masterstroke. In the first half, Forest were relentless, with Williams’ low shot hitting the post and Wood’s powerful shot being saved by Verbruggen; they could have had a bigger lead at the break. Elanga and Gibbs-White were a constant threat every time they went forward, with Brighton left-back Lamptey struggling to contain the pace and skill of former Manchester United player Elanga.

The goals seemed to dry up in the early part of the second half, but Elanga once again sparked the attack with a dazzling run and pinpoint cross that set up Wood for his second goal of the match. Wood and Elanga have now combined for 11 league goals since the start of the season, with only Chelsea's Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson combining for more with 12. Other teams might have chosen to sit back after Wood completed his hat-trick, but Forest did not. They continued to press forward, and after Taiwo Awoniyi’s shot was saved by Verbruggen, Williams was on hand to score his first club goal since April 2023. Silva's goal in stoppage time, his first in the Premier League, capped a memorable day for the East Midlands club.

Brighton manager Hürzeler, without midfielders Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari, still fielded an attacking lineup, bringing Georginio Rutter and Minteh back into the starting lineup, which also included Welbeck, João Pedro, and Kaoru Mitoma - the latter of whom had received an offer from Saudi club Al-Nassr late in the transfer window. Before the game, Hürzeler stated that he wanted to “dominate” Forest, and the visitors showed plenty of attacking intent early on, but those efforts were undermined by poor defending. Gibbs-White and Elanga were given far too much space in the build-up to Forest’s first two goals, and Gibbs-White also skipped past Welbeck and Lamptey in the build-up to the home side's second.

Hürzeler replaced Jack Hinshelwood, Mitoma, and Pedro with Matt O’Riley, Simon Adingra, and Diego Gomez at halftime, but if Brighton fans thought the second half would be an improvement, they were sorely mistaken. Elanga was allowed to run unchallenged into the box to set up Wood’s second goal, and Lamptey could have no complaints about the penalty decision after he brought down Gibbs-White. Verbruggen's clearance into the path of Silva in stoppage time summed up a truly miserable afternoon for Brighton, who suffered their heaviest league defeat since a 9-0 loss to Middlesbrough in the first round of the Second Division in 1958-59.