BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Brighton rebounded from a midweek drubbing in the Europa League, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Sunday in a nervy Premier League performance to stay within touching distance of again finishing in a European qualification place.
Brighton took the lead in the 29th minute when a free kick was turned in by Forest defender Andrew Omobamidele for an own-goal.
Forest started slowly but gradually came into the game, heaping pressure on the home side in the second half but came up short despite several chances.
Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi made seven changes to the team that was beaten 4-0 at Roma in the first leg of the round of 16 on Thursday. The gamble paid off with the Seagulls moving up to eighth in the Premier League, one point behind West Ham.
“This was massive. We have been on a tough run and we needed something like that today. We changed a few little bits today and it worked,” said Brighton defender Lewis Dunk. “Clean sheet makes it easier because you only have to score once. We have a win under our belt and now we look forward to Thursday (against Roma), where we need to score five goals and keep a clean sheet.”
Forest remains one spot above the drop zone, three points ahead of Luton, which has a game in hand.
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