Nottingham Forest came back from a goal down to beat European hopefuls Brighton 3-1, and snap their 11-game winless skid, at the City Ground on Wednesday.
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The victory is beyond massive for Nottingham Forest (30 points - 17th place), who climb back out of the relegation zone with five games left to play. Brighton (49 points), meanwhile, remain 8th in the Premier League table, now four points off 6th place (Europa League) with two games in hand.
Nottingham Forest looked like taking an early lead when they were awarded a penalty kick in the 12th minute, but Jason Steele guessed the right way and made a fantastic save to deny Brennan Johnson his 9th Premier League goal of the season.
It was Brighton who took the lead in the 38th minute, though, as Keylor Navas made the initial save, but spilled the rebound for Facundo Buonanotte to clean up and claim the opening goal.
WATCH NOTTINGHAM FOREST vs BRIGHTON FULL MATCH REPLAY
The lead lasted into first-half stoppage time, when Renan Lodi’s cross took a sharp deflection off the leg of Pascal Gross to wrong-foot Steele and sneak inside the near post for an own goal.
Danilo made it 2-1 in the 69th minute, as he raced in behind the Brighton defense and fired a pinpoint strike to the far post.
As the game creeped into stoppage time, Forest were awarded another penalty after Lewis Dunk handled the ball inside the penalty area. With Johnson having already been substituted, Morgan Gibbs-White was entrusted the honor, and he converted to secure three very important points.
Stars of the show
What’s next?
Forest will continue their fight to remain in the Premier League on Saturday (10 am ET), when they head to west London to take on 9th-place Brentford. At the same time down on the south coast, Brighton will welcome 13th-place Wolves to Amex Stadium.
Nottingham Forest vs Brighton, live score: 2-1
38th minute - Facundo Buonanotte cleans up Keylor Navas’ mess to make it 1-0
45th minute +2 - Pascal Gross clips cross into his own net
69th minute - Danilo finishes a counter-attack to make it 2-1
90th minute +1 - Morgan Gibbs-White converts penalty kick to put game away
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Brighton live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2:30pm ET, WednesdayTV Channel: PeacockOnline: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines & star players
Forest hasn’t won a Premier League match since a February 5 triumph over Leeds at the City Ground, drawing only three times and conceding multiple goals on nine separate occasions.
Brighton has only lost once in its last seven outings, winning four times and only falling 2-1 to Spurs on April 8. Will their midweek FA Cup semifinal loss to Manchester United stop bright players like Julio Enciso and Alexis Mac Allister from being their very best? What about Solly March, who has been one of the very best players in the Premier League but missed his spot kick in the semifinal.
Nottingham Forest team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Willy Boly (thigh), Dean Henderson (thigh), Chris Wood (thigh), Cheikhou Kouyate (thigh), Giulian Biancone (knee), Omar Richards (calf), Ryan Yates (shoulder), Scott McKenna (shoulder), Gustavo Scarpa (knee), Jack Colback (concussion)
✌️ Two changes from #LIVNFO.
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 26, 2023
🇨🇮 Serge is skipper.
🔁 Brennan returns to the XI.
How we'll line up for #NFOBHA 📋 pic.twitter.com/m2DCgdzWmz
Brighton team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Tariq Lamptey (knee), Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle), Adam Lallana (thigh – out for season), Evan Ferguson (ankle), Danny Welbeck (knock)
TEAM! 💙Here's our starting XI to take on @NFFC this evening. 📝
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 26, 2023
📲 https://t.co/S3j1TIeLz3 // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/4rnQvPMnbI
