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6 hours ago
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It seemed fitting that a left-back playing on the wing set great innovators Brighton on their way to fifth. Maxim De Cuyper opened the scoring as the Seagulls enacted revenge on Nottingham Forest for last season’s 7-0 defeat on a bitingly cold day.
Forest had their chances to equalise, something that seemed unlikely after a dreadful opening quarter of uncharacteristic lethargic play. Brighton failed to make the most of their early dominance count but Stefanos Tzimas removed the nerves late on.
The first whistle failed to wake Forest from a nap against a fizzing Brighton team. Within the first minute Yankuba Minteh went through one-on-one with Matz Sels, who showed he was the home team’s most energetic player by sprinting off his line to repel the Brighton man.
By the time the minutes ticked into double figures, Brighton had enjoyed four good opportunities, the final one seeing Georginio Rutter’s shot blocked on the line. Brighton targeted Forest’s right-hand side, putting Nicolò Savona under constant pressure thanks to left-back De Cuyper who was deployed further upfield and able to find space, putting in numerous dangerous crosses.
In theory, there were as many red shirts as blue and white ones on the pitch but Brighton gave the impression of having more men. They were repeatedly running in behind, notching seven shots in the opening quarter-hour against an error-ridden Forest.
Fresh from thrashing champions Liverpool, Sean Dyche knows better than to think everything will be smooth sailing at Forest. He prowled the edge of the technical area, sending out instruction in a desperate attempt to make his side competitive but looked exasperated by the early performance.
As the half-hour mark approached, a football match was threatening to break out as Forest belatedly got involved. Morgan Gibbs-White volleyed a Nicolás Domínguez cross inches wide and the Forest playmaker should have done better after beating the offside trap but his low ball towards Igor Jesus was far too powerful, despite being under no pressure. Either way, Forest finally had some hope.
It took until first-half injury time for Brighton to take the lead when a free-kick was recycled by Bart Verbruggen, and Rutter slipped the ball through for De Cuyper in space to do the rest. If his teammates had shown similar levels of clinical finishing earlier, the game would have been out of sight by this point.
Dyche responded at the break by sending on Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi. The aim was to create problems for Brighton which they did not have before. Hutchinson was inventive on the right, while the delivery of Hudson-Odoi on the left made the visiting defence pause for thought.
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Brighton found themselves on the back foot and the City Ground rediscovered its voice. The decibels should have increased but Gibbs-White’s goalbound-shot from an Elliot Anderson corner was deflected wide by Ibrahim Sangaré. In the moment it was little consolation, but Forest were finally on top.
That means little in the hectic nature of a Premier League match, with Forest soon thankful for two smart saves from Sels in quick succession. The Belgian followed this up by sprinting 40 yards out of his goal to win the ball, before starting an attack which almost concluded with Igor Jesus being thwarted by Verbruggen.
It was becoming a battle for Brighton to hold onto their slender lead. Forest’s wingers were creating havoc and only the last-ditch efforts of defenders was keeping them at bay, before doubling the lead when Tzimas made the most of Morato’s 88th-minute mistake. Brighton showed both sides of their game, the explosive attacking play and hardened, something Fabian Hürzeler will have enjoyed witnessing, but not as much as the table.
