Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest. Brighton and Nottingham Forest preserved their unbeaten Premier League runs in an eventful draw that saw one player and both managers sent off.
The game at the Amex Stadium ended on a contentious note when Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White received a second yellow card for a sliding tackle on Brighton’s Joao Pedro.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was shown a red card by referee Rob Jones, who also sent off Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo following heated reactions to the incident.
Neither manager addressed the media post-match, leaving their assistants to comment instead.
Nottingham Forest assistant manager Rui Pedro Silva expressed his view: “Morgan’s tackle seemed strong but fair to me. The referee saw it differently, and while we don’t agree, it’s his decision. As for the managers’ red cards, I didn’t hear anything untoward from Nuno—he was just emotional, but nothing beyond that.”
Brighton coach Andrew Crofts admitted uncertainty over Hurzeler’s dismissal, saying, “I’m not entirely sure why he was sent off. Their player was going for the ball, but it felt like a foul. The benches saw it differently, but the referee made the call.”
The drama overshadowed what was otherwise a thrilling match, which saw the visitors take the lead through a penalty by Chris Wood, awarded after Carlos Baleba fouled Callum Hudson-Odoi in the box.
Brighton responded with two quick goals before halftime. Nineteen-year-old Jack Hinshelwood scored his fourth goal of the season, heading in a cross from Jan Paul van Hecke to level the score. Moments later, Danny Welbeck put Brighton ahead with a stunning 25-yard free-kick that left Forest keeper Matz Sels helpless.
Welbeck nearly extended Brighton’s lead with a dazzling run past three Forest defenders, but his shot narrowly missed the target.
Forest fought back, equalizing in the 70th minute when Gibbs-White broke through Brighton’s offside trap and set up substitute Ramon Sosa, who scored his first goal in English football.
Both teams had chances to snatch a victory, but in the end, Brighton stayed seventh in the table, while Forest moved up to eighth. The draw leaves both sides with two wins and three draws from their five league matches so far, with Brighton also progressing to the Carabao Cup’s last 16.
The game began with Brighton on the front foot, as Simon Adingra posed a constant threat, though his dangerous cross from inside the penalty area failed to find a teammate.
Forest, fresh from an impressive 1-0 win over Liverpool, maintained their trend of scoring first in every league match this season. Wood, a former Brighton loanee, coolly slotted home a penalty, sending Bart Verbruggen the wrong way.
Brighton gave Forest an early warning when Georginio Rutter spun and fired just wide, before Hinshelwood’s header brought them level. Minutes later, Welbeck’s masterful free-kick put the hosts ahead.
Forest, however, leveled the match midway through the second half, and despite a flurry of red cards and a late opportunity for Sosa, the game ended in a fair 2-2 draw.
In stoppage time, Sosa broke free but overhit a pass to Hudson-Odoi, missing the chance to claim all three points. The offside flag went up, but the moment encapsulated a match that could have gone either way.
source – BBC