Nottingham Forest 7-0 Brighton: Player ratings as Wood hat-trick inspires record-shattering win
- Nottingham Forest and Brighton both broke records during Saturday's game
- Forest only led 3-0 at half-time
- The Seagulls are still in the top half of the table
Nottingham Forest romped to a record-breaking 7-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday lunchtime.
Nuno Espirito Santo's hosts were fresh from a 5-0 humbling against Bournemouth last weekend, yet responded in emphatic fashion at the City Ground. Taking the lead through an own goal from Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk inside the opening 12 minutes, Forest started quickly.
Morgan Gibbs-White, who shone from the number ten role in a rejigged system which saw Forest line up with a back three, doubled the hosts lead. Anthony Elanga delivered the corner for his teammate's glancing header and swung the ball into the box for Chris Wood to make it 3-0 shortly after the half-hour mark.
Elanga completed his hat-trick of assists after the break with another ball into the stride of Forest's ruthless frontman. Wood completed his own treble barely four minutes later from the penalty spot.
Brighton, already trailing 5-0, conceded twice more in the last two minutes of normal time and were architects of their own humiliation on each occasion as Neco Williams and Jota Silva both latched on to loose passes inside the Seagulls' defensive third.
The 7-0 win represented Forest's largest-ever Premier League victory and, conversely, Brighton's heaviest defeat in league competition since 1958.
Nottingham Forest player ratings (3-4-1-2)
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Matz Sels | 8.7/10 |
CB: Morato | 7.5/10 |
CB: Nikola Milenkovic | 7.1/10 |
CB: Murillo | 7.7/10 |
RWB: Ola Aina | 7.7/10 |
CM: Elliot Anderson | 7.5/10 |
CM: Danilo | 6.9/10 |
LWB: Neco Williams | 8.6/10 |
AM: Morgan Gibbs-White | 8.7/10 |
ST: Anthony Elanga | 9.4/10 |
ST: Chris Wood | 9.6/10 |
SUB: Nicolas Dominguez (65' for Danilo) | 6.6/10 |
SUB: Willy Boly (72' for Murillo) | 6.4/10 |
SUB: Jota Silva (72' for Gibbs-White) | 7.3/10 |
SUB: Ibrahim Sangare (82' for Anderson) | N/A |
SUB: Taiwo Awoniyi (82' for Wood) | N/A |
Subs not used: Carlos Miguel (GK), Alex Moreno, Ryan Yates, Ramon Sosa
Brighton player ratings (4-1-4-1)
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Bart Verburggen | 3.4/10 |
RB: Joel Veltman | 5.1/10 |
CB: Jan Paul van Hecke | 4.6/10 |
CB: Lewis Dunk | 3.9/10 |
LB: Tariq Lamptey | 3.9/10 |
CM: Jack Hinshelwood | 5.5/10 |
RM: Yankuba Minteh | 7.6/10 |
CM: Georginio Rutter | 7.0/10 |
CM: Joao Pedro | 6.2/10 |
LM: Kaoru Mitoma | 5.8/10 |
ST: Danny Welbeck | 6.4/10 |
SUB: Diego Gomez (46' for Hinshelwood) | 6.8/10 |
SUB: Matt O'Riley (46' for Pedro) | 5.9/10 |
SUB: Simon Adingra (46' for Mitoma) | 6.0/10 |
SUB: Evan Ferguson (73' for Welbeck) | 6.1/10 |
Subs not used: Carl Rushworth (GK), Adam Webster, Ruairi McConville, Brajan Gruda, Joe Knight.
Player of the match - Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest)
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