Brighton’s disastrous outing at the City Ground ended in embarrassment as they suffered a crushing 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Fabian Hurzeler, the Seagulls’ head coach, took full responsibility, offering an apology to the fans after what he described as a performance where “everything went wrong.”
Chris Wood’s spectacular hat-trick led the onslaught, with Morgan Gibbs-White, Nico Williams, and Jota Silva all adding their names to the scoresheet. Brighton’s misery was compounded by Lewis Dunk’s early own goal, setting the tone for a long afternoon.
The result marked a stunning turnaround for Forest, who had been battered by Bournemouth the previous weekend. Under Nuno Espirito Santo’s guidance, they bounced back emphatically, extending their lead over fourth-placed Newcastle by five points.
Meanwhile, Brighton’s struggles continued, leaving them stuck in tenth place after back-to-back defeats.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Hurzeler was candid about his team’s shortcomings. “We are responsible for the performance and the result,” he said. “That was not the display we wanted to show. We can only apologize to our fans for this outcome.”
Despite missing Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari in midfield, Hurzeler refused to pin the loss on their absence. Instead, he pointed to his team’s failure in the fundamentals—running, pressing, and reacting. “If you can’t get the basics right, you won’t win in the Premier League,” he admitted.
On the other hand, Espirito Santo praised his squad’s response to their previous setback, highlighting their resilience.
“After what happened last week, the answer was fantastic,” he said. “We took a punch, but we got back up.”
Anthony Elanga emerged as a key figure, terrorizing Brighton’s defense and providing three assists.
Espirito Santo was quick to commend his performance, particularly his connection with Wood up front. “Anthony was amazing today,” he remarked.
As Brighton looks to recover, their next challenge comes against Chelsea in the FA Cup. They’ll need a drastic improvement to avoid another painful defeat.