Chris Wood scores hat-trick as Forest thrash Brighton 7-0

Chris Wood netted a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest bounced back from a 5-0 loss at Bournemouth, crushing Brighton 7-0 at the City Ground.

The defeat at Vitality Stadium was Forest’s first since December, but they returned to winning form in front of their fans, achieving their largest-ever Premier League victory against the struggling Seagulls.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s team took the lead in the 12th minute when Lewis Dunk inadvertently put Morgan Gibbs-White’s low cross into his own net from close range.

Gibbs-White extended the lead with a header from Anthony Elanga’s corner, and it was 3-0 just past the half-hour when Wood nodded in Elanga’s cross for his 15th Premier League goal of the season, his most in a single campaign.

Brighton were unlucky not to score before the break, with Yankuba Minteh shooting directly at Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels in a one-on-one, and Danny Welbeck’s shot hitting the underside of the crossbar and not crossing the line.

Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler made a triple substitution at halftime to halt Forest’s momentum, but Wood tapped in another Elanga cross to make it 4-0 in the 64th minute.

Just five minutes later, Tariq Lamptey fouled Gibbs-White at a Forest corner, handing Wood a penalty to complete his hat-trick. The 33-year-old converted, sending Bart Verbruggen the wrong way to make it 5-0. Neco Williams added a sixth, pouncing on a loose ball in the box.

In added time, Jota Silva scored a seventh after firing a low shot from Verbruggen’s misplaced pass.

The victory puts Forest level on points with second-placed Arsenal, who face Manchester City on Sunday, while Brighton remain in ninth.