Brighton and Hove Albion seized back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since November with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at the Amex Stadium, a result fashioned in a breathless opening 15 minutes and preserved by experienced heads. Diego Gómez and Danny Welbeck scored either side of a stunning Morgan Gibbs-White equaliser to give Fabian Hurzeler’s side a lead they never relinquished, even if they rarely felt entirely secure.
For Forest and their new head coach Vitor Pereira, it was another sobering afternoon. Unable to capitalise on rivals’ defeats and rarely able to turn possession into clear chances, they remain 17th, just two points above the drop and still searching for a first league win under their fourth permanent manager of a chaotic season. Brighton, by contrast, climb to 11th, three points behind eighth-placed Everton, and with the mood around the Amex transformed from recent weeks.
Breathless opening as three goals fly in
Brighton arrived buoyed by last week’s morale-restoring victory at Brentford and they began as if intent on ending any unease in the stands early. With James Milner pulling the strings on his 655th Premier League appearance, Hurzeler’s unchanged side flew out of the traps. Their positivity was rewarded inside the opening few minutes when Forest failed to clear a routine situation on the edge of their area. Neco Williams twice hesitated, the ball broke for Gómez near the corner of the box and the Paraguayan winger cut across it beautifully, his angled strike flashing through Murillo’s legs and beyond Matz Sels at the far post. It was a clean hit, though the returning goalkeeper might feel he should have done better.