Reports of Nottingham Forest’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. After suffering a five-goal defeat at Bournemouth last weekend, they bounced back with a thrashing of their own, downing a dismal Brighton 7-0 as Chris Wood fired a hat-trick against his former club.
A Lewis Dunk own goal and headers from Morgan Gibbs-White and Wood put Forest out of sight in the first half. The New Zealander netted his 16th and 17th of the season after the break before Neco Williams and Jota Silva added to the tally as the hosts moved level on points with second-placed Arsenal.
Related: Nottingham Forest 7-0 Brighton: Premier League – live
Nuno Espírito Santo reacted to the mauling at Bournemouth by selecting a back five to make his team more compact. One welcomed change for Forest was the return to the starting lineup of Danilo, who has been absent in the Premier League since breaking his ankle in August.
It was the Brazilian who picked up a loose ball and found Gibbs-White drifting on the right flank. The mercurial midfielder collected the pass and darted for the box, before sending in a low cross which Dunk stuck out a leg to stop, only to deflect it into the bottom corner. It was the seventh own goal of the Brighton captain’s Premier League career, only behind Richard Dunne on the unwanted list. It was a classic goal on the counterattack, something the Forest fans have become accustomed to.
Brighton, as expected, had the vast majority of the possession as they tried – and failed – to find gaps in a far more disciplined Forest defence than the one that visited the south coast seven days ago. The brightest thing Brighton had on show was their all-yellow kit.
There was vibrancy at the other end and it felt whenever Forest made it into the final third Brighton were in trouble. Anthony Elanga and Wood went close to doubling the lead. In the end it was Gibbs-White that scored in surprising fashion with a flicked header at the near post from a perfect Elanga corner. It was beginning to look like the Bournemouth shellacking was a blip rather than the start of a tumble down the table for Forest.
There was rarely a reason for Forest fans to sit down. Gibbs-White started another move, finding Ola Aina who in turn picked out Elanga, allowing him to pick out Wood in the middle to nod home at the back post. The closest the City Ground came to calm was during the needlessly lengthy VAR check to determine Wood was half a yard onside.
Fabian Hürzeler made a triple change at the break but it failed to break the cycle as Forest continued to bide their time on the break. Elanga completed his hat-trick of assists as he burst down the right, beyond the collapsing yellow wall before sliding a pass for Wood to tap into an open net. And the striker had a third from the spot soon after, as Simon Hooper adjudged Tariq Lamptey to be holding Gibbs-White in the box.
Wood deservedly received a standing ovation when replaced by Taiwo Awoniyi. The substitute burst into the area to help create the sixth for Williams, who thumped the ball over from close range to add to the delirium in the stands, enhanced by Silva’s seventh.
If the City Ground needed a lift, this club-record Premier League win provided it and more.
