Nuno Espírito Santo utilised his bench to great effect in Nottingham Forest’s stunning victory at Anfield last week and his decision-making paid off again with his substitutes delivering an equaliser at Brighton to ensure both teams remain undefeated this season. The red mist then descended on the Amex Stadium as tempers reached boiling point. Forest’s midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was sent off in the closing stages for a second booking while both Nuno and Brighton’s manager, Fabian Hürzeler, were dismissed for their furious reactions on the touchline in a feisty finale.
Chris Wood’s early penalty sparked hopes of a fifth successive away victory for Forest stretching back to the end of last season. Brighton had to wait patiently but two goals at the end of the first half – a magnificent header from the hometown teenager Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck’s curling free-kick – turned the contest on its head.
The visitors rung the changes in the second half and were rewarded with an equaliser from the substitute Ramón Sosa. Gibbs-White was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on João Pedro. Nuno was enraged and received a red card from the referee, Rob Jones. Hürzeler was also ordered off in a fractious climax to this draw.
Brighton made two changes to the team held by Ipswich with Pervis Estupiñán and Simon Adringra replacing Yasin Ayari and Yankuba Minteh. João Pedro returned to the bench and the former Watford forward missed the last two games due to a knock. Callum Hudson-Odoi, the goalscorer at Anfield in Forest’s win at Liverpool, and Anthony Elanga were promoted to the starting lineup in place of Ryan Yates and Nicolás Domínguez.
Brighton dominated the early possession and cut Forest open through Georginio Rutter’s threaded pass but Adingra rolled their first attempt wide of Matz Sels’ far post.
Forest’s first attack paid dividends with Hudson-Odoi charging into the area following a direct run by Gibbs-White and Carlos Baleba clumsily brought the attacker down. Wood stepped up and sent the Brighton goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen, the wrong way for his third league goal of the season.
Hudson-Odoi teed up Wood but the former Brighton striker fired wide from close range with the offside flag sparing his blushes after missing the gilt-edged chance. Forest were growing in confidence and threatened on the break with Hudson-Odoi setting up Gibbs-White but his shot was straight at Verbruggen.
The home side were frustrated at their failure to break down their disciplined opponents with Rutter heading over from Estupiñán’s corner. Rutter was looking the hosts’ most likely creator with the former Leeds forward blasting a shot wide from the edge of the area.
Brighton’s first effort on target was a significant one with their equaliser arriving before the break. Jan Paul van Hecke floated in a cross and Hinshelwood rose supremely to plant a header past the despairing dive of Sels. It got even better for Brighton as they quickly added a second through Welbeck’s free-kick which curled round the wall past the motionless Sels.
Nuno acted at half-time with the introduction of Jota Silva, Neco Williams and Yates for James Ward-Prowse, Álex Moreno and Elanga in an attempt to change the momentum of the match. The Paraguay forward Sosa was also brought on shortly afterwards to increase their attacking options.
Kaoru Mitoma was a menacing presence on the left wing for Brighton and his interplay with Welbeck was keeping Nuno’s team under pressure. Welbeck almost struck again after the restart, with the forward wriggling his way through the defence but Sels made a crucial save with his leg to deflect the ball behind for a corner.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Minteh was brought on but the Brighton attacker’s first involvement was at the other end with his backward header forcing his own goalkeeper Verbruggen to prevent an own goal.
Forest still carried a threat on the counterattack and two of their substitutes combined to snatch an equaliser midway through the half. Gibbs-White played an incisive pass through to Silva, who unselfishly laid the ball back for Sosa to net from close range for his first goal for the club.
After the late drama involving Gibbs-White and the managers, Brighton had to settle with the fact they have started a top-flight season unbeaten after their opening five matches for the first time.
