Injury-hit Brighton & Hove Albion have moved into the top seven of the Premier League after coming from behind to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in a breathless encounter at the City Ground.
Joao Pedro’s double, one of which came from the penalty spot, helped Roberto De Zerbi’s men turn the game around, after Anthony Elanga gave the hosts a third-minute lead.
Evan Ferguson levelled proceedings midway through the first half with a fine finish past Odysseas Vlachodimos, before Pedro put the Seagulls ahead shortly before the interval.
Pedro was heavily involved again to extend Brighton’s lead, winning a penalty after some rash defending by Chris Wood, before slotting home to put the visitors in a very comfortable position.
However, the game took another dramatic twist soon after, as Forest won a penalty for Jack Hinshelwood’s tug on Callum Hudson-Odoi, which led to Lewis Dunk being sent off by referee Anthony Taylor for dissent.
Morgan Gibbs-White stepped up and converted from the spot to reduce the deficit back to one, but the hosts were unable to find a dramatic equalising goal late on.
De Zerbi’s side move above Manchester United, who do not play until Sunday, into seventh after ending a six-game winless run in the Premier League.
There were some negatives for the away side though, as they were handed two more injury concerns over Ansu Fati and Tariq Lamptey, who both went off in the first half, as well as in impending suspension for Dunk.
Forest moved up to 14th after Everton’s 10-point deduction, and remain there for now, but they could be leapfrogged by Fulham this weekend when they face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.
De Zerbi reacted strongly to their disappointing home draw with Sheffield United, making five changes, but they were on the backfoot instantly at the City Ground, as Steve Cooper’s side took an early lead, even without their main source of goals Taiwo Awoniyi, who was ruled out for up to four months earlier this week.
Gibbs-White’s right-wing cross deep into the area found an on-rushing Elanga, who headed home beyond Bart Verbruggen into the bottom-right corner on just three minutes.
Forest cowered into their shell slightly after taking the lead though, with Brighton’s onslaught eventually providing an equalising goal.
Shortly before the half-hour mark, Ferguson was found on the edge of the box and showed fine feet to set himself for the shot, before picking out the far corner with superb precision, giving Vlachodimos no chance.
After having just one shot in the opening half-hour, the hosts opened up rather more after being pegged back, with Wood having the best opening, but he could not generate any power on his header.
Pedro, who only was introduced midway through the first half for the stricken Fati, then gave the Seagulls the lead, beating Ola Aina in an aerial battle from Pascal Gross’s cross and beating Vlachodimos.
Forest remained in the game though, as Aina flashed a powerful drive just wide of the post, before Danilo wasted a huge opportunity from a corner, getting his contact all wrong inside the six-yard box.
Just minutes after Danilo squandered that chance, Forest were punished, and in particular Wood, as the striker, who was back defending a set piece, pulled Pedro down in the back when chasing Dunk’s header into the box.
Taylor wasted no time in pointing to the spot, and Pedro dusted himself down and sent Vlachodimos the wrong way to put Brighton in the ascendancy just before the hour mark.
Brighton looked relatively comfortable, but everything changed with just under 20 minutes remaining as Hinshelwood was penalised for a tug on fellow substitute Hudson-Odoi, leading to VAR check where Taylor pointed to the spot for a second time.
Brighton captain Dunk, incensed with the decision, had too much to say and earned a yellow card from the referee, but after continuing his argument, Taylor pulled out a straight red card for the defender just seconds later.
A melee between the two sets of players ensued, with Gross going to ground after a shove from Moussa Niakhate, earning him a yellow card, as Ferguson was also booked, with Hinshelwood being cautioned for the foul which led to the spot kick.
After some dark arts from the Brighton players in delaying the penalty, Gibbs-White remained composed and sent Verbruggen the wrong way, dispatching the ball into the bottom-left corner.
Brighton went heavily defensive in the hopes of holding onto their slender lead, but Forest struggled and were wasteful in the final third.
Both Jan Paul Van Hecke and Gibbs-White had free headers in either box just seconds apart go begging, as the game approached a whopping 10 minutes of injury time.
Brighton just about held on though despite the Forest onslaught, with Verbruggen denying Ryan Yates in the 100th minute, as they have finally ended that worrying winless run that had stretched back six matches.
Manager De Zerbi was absolutely delighted in the aftermath, sprinting all the way over to the away end to celebrate in front of the adoring Brighton supporters with the entire squad on the full-time whistle.
