Brighton up to fifth after De Cuyper and Tzimas floor Forest

Revenge is best served on a freezing cold day at the City Ground, Brighton found, as the Seagulls made amends for being thrashed 7-0 here 10 months ago.

- Will Unwin

If Sean Dyche thought pummelling the Premier League champions last week was a sign of what was to come, he was given a shock here against a side that flew up to fifth.

Fabian Hürzeler is an innovator, picking as a winger the left-back Maxim De Cuyper, as Brighton targeted a perceived weak spot on the Forest right. The German was proved correct with his selection as the auxiliary midfielder opened the scoring before Stefanos Tzimas removed nerves late on after making the most of a Morato error.

"We came here to clean the air, and not only for us but also for our supporters, for our fans - therefore, I'm quite happy that they were able to win," Hürzeler said.

Dyche's side grew belatedly into the game but were unable to take their chances, hindered by the absence of Chris Wood, while Murillo's injury unsettled the defence.

The first whistle failed to wake Forest from a nap against a fizzing Brighton team. In 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.