It seemed fitting that a left-back playing on the wing set the great innovators Brighton on their way to fifth. Maxim De Cuyper opened the scoring as the Seagulls enacted revenge on Nottingham Forest for the 7-0 defeat last season.
Forest had their chances to equalise, something that seemed unlikely after a dreadful opening quarter of uncharacteristic, lethargic play. Brighton failed to make the most of their early dominance count but Stefanos Tzimas removed the nerves late on.
The first whistle failed to wake Forest from a nap against a fizzing Brighton team. Within the first minute Yankuba Minteh went through one-on-one with Matz Sels, who showed he was the home team’s most energetic player by sprinting off his line to repel the Brighton man.
By the time the minutes ticked into double figures, Brighton had enjoyed four good opportunities, the final one seeing Georginio Rutter’s shot blocked on the line. Brighton targeted Forest’s right-hand side, putting Nicolò Savona under constant pressure thanks to the left-back De Cuyper who was deployed further upfield and able to find space, putting in numerous dangerous crosses.
In theory, there were as many red shirts as blue and white ones on the pitch but Brighton gave the impression of having more men. They were repeatedly running in behind, notching seven shots in the opening quarter-hour against an error-riddled Forest.
