Brighton Vs Nottm Forest: Welbeck on target as Brighton heap pressure on Forest — brighton vs nottm forest
brighton vs nottm forest ended in a swift, three-goal opening at the Amex Stadium that set the tone for a home win which eased concerns around Brighton and piled pressure on Nottingham Forest and their new manager. The game featured a sixth-minute opener from Diego Gómez, an equaliser by Morgan Gibbs-White and a quick, decisive finish from Danny Welbeck that gave Brighton the victory.
Frantic opening at the Amex Stadium produced three goals inside 15 minutes
Diego Gómez opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an angled strike that followed two errors from Neco Williams, the Wales defender failing to clear before Gómez hammered past Matz Sels from the edge of the area. Morgan Gibbs-White levelled in the 13th minute with a powerful effort from the edge of the box after a move that involved a clever dummy by Callum Hudson-Odoi and a pass from Igor Jesus. The Amex saw three goals in the opening 15 minutes and the early burst defined the contest.
Brighton Vs Nottm Forest: Welbeck restores lead and reaches a season landmark
Danny Welbeck restored Brighton's lead just 105 seconds after Gibbs-White’s strike with a clever turn and finish after Kaoru Mitoma’s cross was headed into his path by Jack Hinshelwood at the back post. Welbeck, the 35-year-old forward, grabbed his 10th Premier League goal of the season, equalling his career-best tally from last season and underlining his importance to the Seagulls’ attack.
Brighton controlled tempo but arguably should have scored more; Forest missed late chances
The Seagulls set the tempo after regaining the lead and created further openings, with an excellent save denying Kaoru Mitoma a third. Forest struggled to break forward and create meaningful chances for most of the match. The visitors pushed for a late equaliser, but substitute Taiwo Awoniyi squandered their best opportunity when he sent a bullet header well wide of the target.
Results lift Fabian Hurzeler’s side while Vítor Pereira’s position grows fraught
Brighton’s win was their second in succession after ending a six-game winless run with victory at Brentford last week, their first back-to-back wins since November. The result moved Brighton up to 11th in the table, three points behind eighth-placed Everton, and will help to ease pressure on manager Fabian Hurzeler. It was only a couple of weeks ago that a small section of Brighton fans directed boos and chants of "getting sacked in the morning" at Hurzeler, but he left the pitch to cheers on this occasion.
For Nottingham Forest, the defeat deepened concerns around Vítor Pereira. He is the club’s fourth permanent manager this season and may be only four matches into his spell after being appointed to replace Sean Dyche a fortnight ago. A second Premier League defeat in succession since his appointment leaves Forest only two points clear of the drop zone and teetering two points above West Ham in the relegation places. Forest face a trip to Manchester City on Wednesday and Pereira warned of the physical and mental toll of a congested schedule: "Even the strongest players in the world, if you are playing one day then travelling, playing after three days, travelling … you start to be tired, even mentally, " he said. "But this is our reality, this is what we need to face. It's important to balance the team and to prepare the team to face this schedule. It's tough, but we need to be ready. " The manager’s position was described as precarious given the record of owner Evangelos Marinakis.
