Nottingham Forest move level on points with second-placed Arsenal with this impressive win. Check out the best facts and Opta data in our Nottingham Forest vs Brighton Premier League stats page.
Nottingham Forest bounced back from the bitter disappointment of a drubbing at Bournemouth last week with their biggest win in a league game since 1991 as they tore a woeful Brighton apart.
The win takes Forest level on points with Arsenal in second place in the Premier League, raising hopes they can maintain their remarkable challenge for a Champions League spot. There may even be some fans who, after this impressive display, will be dreaming of something even greater.
Their credentials had rightly been questioned when they were thrashed 5-0 by Bournemouth last weekend, but they returned to form with an outstanding win over a Brighton side with European hopes of their own. They last won a league game by seven goals almost 34 years ago, when they beat Chelsea 7-0 in April 1991.
This was also the first time in Premier League history any team had lost by five and then won by seven in consecutive games. Going back earlier than the Premier League era, this was the first time in the top flight since February 1974 (Ipswich Town).
They went ahead through an own goal, when Lewis Dunk turned Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross into his own net after just 12 minutes. Gibbs-White then doubled Forest’s lead with a powerful header from Anthony Elanga’s corner.
Chris Wood made it 3-0 with just 32 minutes of the game gone when he nodded in Elanga’s cross. It was the second-earliest Forest had ever scored three goals in a Premier League match, after only a December 1994 match against Ipswich (27th minute).
The goal was also Wood’s 15th of the season, making 2024-25 already his most prolific Premier League season.
But he was far from done there. He added a second from close range and then completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot, taking his tally to 17 goals for the season. After today, Forest still have 14 games to play, so Wood will surely have a first 20-goal Premier League season in his sights.
As well as Wood’s hat-trick of goals, Elanga had got himself a hat-trick of assists. He became just the second Forest player to provide three assists in a Premier League game after Bryan Roy against Sheffield Wednesday in April 1995. Also, only Mohamed Salah (23), Bukayo Saka (19) and Ollie Watkins (18) have provided more assists in the Premier League since the start of last season than Anthony Elanga (17).
Neco Williams and Jota Silva both added goals late on to compound Brighton’s misery. The defeat was their biggest in any league game since they lost 9-0 to Middlesbrough on the opening day of 1958-59 second-tier season. They were depleted by injuries here but that alone is no explanation for this performance.
Forest, meanwhile, continue on their increasingly unstoppable-looking march towards Champions League qualification.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Nottingham Forest vs Brighton stats from their Premier League meeting at the City Ground.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Nottingham Forest vs Brighton: Post-Match Facts
- This is Brighton’s biggest league defeat since losing 9-0 to Middlesbrough on the opening day of 1958-59 second tier season.
- 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).
- 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.
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