Chris Wood’s magnificent vein of form continued as his hat-trick helped Nottingham Forest to their biggest top flight win in 34 years with a brutal 7-0 thrashing of Brighton at the City Ground.

Nuno Espirito Santo was looking for a response following their 5-0 defeat at Bournemouth last week and his side responded in style.

Brighton simply could not deal Morgan Gibbs-White, who was at the heart of Forest’s stylish first-half showing as he forced Lewis Dunk into putting in his own net before scoring one of his own to put the hosts in a commanding position.

Anthony Elanga provided Gibbs-White’s header from a clever corner routine and chalked up his second assist of the afternoon when he put one on to the head of Wood.

Elanga completed a hat-trick of assists when set up Wood’s second and the New Zealand striker followed suit in the goals column when he tucked away a penalty before Neco Williams and Jota Silva finished the rout for Forest’s biggest Premier League victory since April 1991, when they beat Chelsea 7-0.

In typical fashion, the home side drew first blood with their first foray forward.

Gibbs-White darted into space and sent a teaser into the box which forced Dunk to stick a leg out and turn the ball into his own goal.

Forest doubled their advantage in the 25th minute after Wood’s initial effort was blocked out for a corner, Elanga whipped the ball on a sixpence for Gibbs-White to powerfully glance into the roof of the net.

Matz Sels was called into the action for the first time as he scrambled off his line to deny Danny Welbeck’s one-on-one effort.

Brighton were simply not at the races and were in danger of being totally ripped apart before the break – the conductor of the orchestra, Gibbs-White, continued to impress – his cross-field ball found Williams who lashed narrowly wide before Wood’s crack from distance forced Bart Verbruggen to tip over.

The hosts were showing zero mercy in a savage first half which eventually saw Forest land a third. Elanga continued to taunt Tariq Lamptey and he lifted a cross into the clinical Wood who nodded home.

Brighton pushed for a response, the fingertips of Sels proved crucial to flick Welbeck’s curler off the underside of the bar and off the line

However the Reds firmly had their foot on Brighton’s throat and punished them with a fourth in the 64th minute. Elanga’s domineering afternoon went on, he drilled a ball across the face of goal and none other than Wood was waiting to stick into an empty net.

The Seagulls’ miserable afternoon was not finished there either, Simon Hooper pointed to the penalty spot when Lamptey wrestled Gibbs-White to the floor and Wood made no mistake from 12 yards for his 17th goal of the season.

Forest wanted more and they had a sixth when the ball fell for Williams for his second goal for the club.

The humiliation continued and a pathetic Brighton performance was rubber-stamped when Verbruggen passed straight to Jota who slotted home to get Forest’s European surge back on track.

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Manchester United Brazil winger Antony has joined Real Betis on loan for the rest of the season, both clubs said on Saturday.

Details of the deal were not disclosed but local media reported that LaLiga side Betis do not have an option to buy, with United covering a minimum of 84% of his salary plus bonuses.

“Everybody at United would like to wish Antony the best of luck for his spell in Seville,” the Premier League club said in a statement.

Antony signed for United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial fee of 80.75 million pounds ($100.77 million), making him the club’s second-most expensive signing.

However, the 24-year-old has failed to impress at Old Trafford, scoring only 12 goals in 96 appearances.

The forward, who has played in 13 of United’s 32 games in all competitions this season, is under contract until 2027.

-Reuters

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Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim labelled his side possibly the worst in the club’s history after a 10th Premier League defeat of the season at home by Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

United’s 3-1 defeat leaves them in 13th place in the standings and on course for their lowest finish in the Premier League.

Brighton cruised to victory and United have now managed 11 points from a possible 33 since Amorim joined from Sporting in November. It is the first time since 1989-90 that they have lost 10 of their first 22 games of the league season.

“Imagine what this is (like) for a fan of Manchester United. Imagine what this is (like) for me,” Amorim told Sky Sports. “We are getting a new coach that is losing more than the last coach (Erik ten Hag). I have full knowledge of that.

“(But) I am not going to change, no matter what. I know we can succeed, but we need to survive this moment. Because I’m not naive and I know that we need to survive now.

“We are being the worst team, maybe, in the history of Manchester United. I know that you want headlines, but I’m saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go, your headlines.”

The 20-times English champions are as close to the relegation zone as the top eight with 26 points from 22 games. Their worst finish in the Premier League era was last season when they ended in eighth.

Amorim suggested there will be more pain on the way for the team before the end of the season, as they prepare to host Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday before a trip to Fulham for their next Premier League fixture on Sunday.

“I’m not going to change how I see the game, I’m clear on that,” he said. “The players are going to suffer, the fans are going to suffer, I’m sorry.

“I have one way of doing things but we need to survive this moment. It’s very clear for everybody what we are going to do (tactically).”

United, who were last relegated from the top flight in 1974, have lost six of their opening 12 home league games, their worst record since 1893-94.

The one salvation for United fans might be that the last time they lost 10 of their first 22 games was under Alex Ferguson who went on to become the club’s greatest manager with 13 Premier League titles.

-Reuters

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