Wasteful Brighton fail to cut through Forest as De Zerbi stays winless
The early exchanges set the tone for the rest of the first period, with Brighton controlling possession and keeping the visitors firmly lodged in their own half.
After initially struggling to turn their superiority into opportunities, the Seagulls finally started to threaten, but their first big chance was blazed over from close range by defender Joël Veltman (30).
The ever-influential Leandro Trossard (27) then started to take over, but even he couldn’t break the deadlock, coming closest with a volley that struck the bar.
Solly March (28) forced Dean Henderson (25) into a save at his near post, before the goalkeeper denied Pascal Groß (31) from inside the area after Trossard had unlocked the defence.
Steve Cooper’s men failed to register a single shot before the break and managed just 32% possession, so things could hardly have worsened after the restart.
Wasted openings were a theme of the first period for Brighton, and that continued after the interval, with Danny Welbeck (31) missing a couple of good chances from inside the box.
For all of their endeavour, the hosts’ output in front of goal did not improve, meaning they’re now winless in their last three PL games without scoring a single goal.
Forest were no better, with their first shot of the game, Brennan Johnson’s wayward effort, going out for a throw-in. The newly-promoted outfit are without a win in their last nine league matches, with performances continuing to leave a lot to be desired.
