Match stats
- Sunderland have failed to score a first-half goal in 24 of their 34 games, only Wolves (25) have failed to score more often in the Premier League this season.
- Nottingham Forest are undefeated in their last six games in the Premier League, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 7th December 2024 to 19th January 2025, a run of eight games.
- Forest scored five goals in a Premier League game for the first time since 1st February 2025 against Brighton (W7-0).
Highlights
Analysis
Nottingham Forest stunned Sunderland in the first-half and maintain their 100 per cent record of leading at the break: they now have a record of W5, D0, L0 when leading at half-time in the Premier League this season.
Match report
This game represented a huge opportunity for Sunderland to boost their hopes of European qualification, and they had the first chance when Chris Rigg ghosted in from the right flank, but the 18-year-old’s effort was tame and Matz Sels gathered easily.
That was as good as it got for the hosts in a nightmare first half, and they went behind after 17 minutes when Igor Jesus’ far-post header cannoned off Trai Hume into the net for an own-goal.
The Black Cats’ luck was out for the opening goal, but they were entirely responsible for their own downfall in the 31st minute as Forest made it 2-0. Goalkeeper Robin Roefs passed straight to Chris Wood, who received the ball back from Morgan Gibbs-White and slotted home his first PL goal since the opening day of the season.
It got worse for Sunderland three minutes later, when Jesus had time to nod a cross towards the penalty spot and Gibbs-White fired in his sixth goal in six games across all competitions.
The home fans were already streaming out when Forest made it 4-0 eight minutes before HT, as Ola Aina’s effort deflected kindly for Jesus to hammer a first-time volley past Roefs for his second goal in as many matches.
Sunderland started the second half with a point to prove and Dan Ballard thought he had pulled a goal back when he headed home from close range in the 61st minute, but referee Darren England ruled it out for an apparent foul by Nordi Mukiele on Sels after consulting the VAR monitor.
That decision extinguished any faint hopes of a comeback for the Black Cats, as they began to face up to a fourth defeat in five games at the Stadium of Light (W1) - having gone unbeaten in their first 12 home matches of the PL campaign.
Forest accumulated more bookings (five) than shots (one) after the interval, but they made that single effort count as Newcastle United academy graduate Elliot Anderson rubbed salt in Sunderland’s wounds by sweeping home the fifth goal in stoppage time.
That came after Sels had tipped Enzo Le Fée’s late piledriver over the crossbar to preserve his clean sheet as Vítor Pereira’s men took a giant step towards safety, while stretching their unbeaten run to eight games across all competitions (W5, D3).
Forest can now look forward to Thursday’s UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg against Aston Villa after scoring four goals in each of the past two matches, while Sunderland have conceded exactly that number and remain 11th in the table.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)
Click here to see all the stats of the match.
Post-match reaction
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira told Sky Sports: "To come here and play that first half at a high level, defending, pressing, attacking, set plays... I need to thank my staff that take care of set plays because they were fantastic.
"Organised pressing created problems and the finishing. To show this mentality at this point in the season I'm very happy for my players and the supporters, club and staff.
"We are in a good moment," he added. "We created spirit, mentality and tactically now because we have had more time together we are in a moment that we can face every game to get points."
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris lamented his side's heavy defeat but gave credit to their supporters.
He said to Sky Sports: "The big difference in intensity is clear. We started ok but then progressively we felt that they were more involved, intense, pragmatic.
"They pressed well and we were unable to build up under this pressure and the momentum shifted at that moment. They were clinical, they scored four goals in the first half and it was like a punch in our face.
"We gave away many fouls and we gave the opponent the opportunity to be strong in their set pieces. They had seven corners in the first half which is massive. We didn't defend well before we gave the opportunity to be dangerous in our box.
"Our fans were intense, even at 4-0, and we were not. We reacted a bit during the second half, tried to change the dynamic a bit but it was too late. It is a strong reminder, we drop our standards maybe 10 per cent and we were punished, which was the case today. We were not at their level, no excuses."