Here we go: Nottingham Forest routed Sunderland 5-0 at the Stadium of Light, a statement away win last night that drags S. Dyche’s side to 39 points and turns up the heat on every club still glancing at the relegation line.
R. Le Bris kept Sunderland in their usual 4-2-3-1, intent on using Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki to dictate the midfield. It lasted 17 minutes. Trai Hume put through his own net, the sort of moment that empties a stadium of belief. Forest, set up in a compact 4-4-2, smelt panic and punished it ruthlessly.
By the 37th minute the contest was finished. Chris Wood scored in the 31st minute after Morgan Gibbs-White split the defence. Gibbs-White added the third in the 34th minute from Igor Jesus’s assist, then Igor Jesus himself scored three minutes later. That quarter of an hour was all about Forest’s timing: Wood occupying Daniel Ballard, Gibbs-White ghosting off the front line, Igor Jesus peeling away from Nordi Mukiele. Sunderland never adjusted.
Le Bris threw on Reinildo Mandava at the interval, but Forest were already in management mode. Dyche swapped Ibrahim Sangaré for Nicolás Domínguez at half-time and introduced Morato on 50 minutes to lock the left side. Sunderland kept the ball, finishing with 61 percent possession and 14 shots, yet their expected goals sat at 0.70. Even the brief spark on 63 minutes, when Ballard thought he had found a response, vanished once VAR ruled it out.
The second half frayed instead of turned. Habib Diarra and Domínguez were booked in the 51st minute as tempers rose. Elliot Anderson was cautioned seven minutes later, Igor Jesus at the hour, Neco Williams on 69, Xhaka on 75, Ryan Yates on 76. Where Sunderland wanted control they found only stoppages, and Matz Sels dealt calmly with the four efforts that did reach his goal.
Dyche’s bench delivered the final word. Taiwo Awoniyi replaced Wood in the 88th minute and slipped Anderson through for the fifth in the 90+5th minute, a neat reward for a midfielder who had already put in the hard yards either side of his booking. Forest cleared their lines, reset, then scored. Sunderland never did.
Key numbers
- Possession: Sunderland 61% | Nottingham Forest 39%
- Shots on target: Sunderland 4 | Nottingham Forest 6
- Expected goals: Sunderland 0.70 | Nottingham Forest 1.10
- Saves: Robin Roefs 2 | Matz Sels 4
- Forest bookings: Nicolás Domínguez 51', Elliot Anderson 58', Igor Jesus 60', Neco Williams 69', Ryan Yates 76'
- Sunderland bookings: Habib Diarra 51', Granit Xhaka 75'
Forest’s surge extends their unbeaten run and places them a point behind Leeds, who head to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. For a detailed look at that clash, the Chelsea vs Leeds briefing lays out the wider stakes. Sunderland stay 11th on 46 points with a goal difference now at minus nine and a manager demanding an immediate reaction before the run-in swallows their season.
