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West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest: Late Gibbs-White penalty completes turnaround in relegation clash
Nottingham Forest extended the gap between themselves and the Premier League relegation zone to seven points after they beat West Ham United 2-1 at London Stadium.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s 89th-minute penalty was the decisive moment for Sean Dyche’s side after Nicolas Dominguez cancelled out Murillo’s earlier own goal, giving Forest a huge boost in the relegation battle.
The visitors went close to taking the lead after 10 minutes when Neco Williams saw his effort from distance tipped around the post by Alphonse Areola, and the Hammers responded appropriately at the other end.
Crysencio Summerville’s inswinging corner was flicked on by Tomas Soucek before Murillo inadvertently headed past his own goalkeeper.
There was more action at both ends either side of the break, with Callum Hudson-Odoi striking the crossbar with a curler, while Summerville saw a goal disallowed by VAR for an offside in the build-up by debutant Valetin Castellanos.
Less than three minutes after that goal was chalked off, Dominguez levelled for Forest as his looping header from Elliot Anderson’s corner found the back of the net.
And as the Hammers pushed for a winner, they were punished at the other end when Areola caught Gibbs-White in the face when coming out to punch a cross, and the Forest captain coolly dispatched from the penalty spot for all three points.
Three big points in the capital. pic.twitter.com/2EWUslpX12
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 6, 2026
Data Debrief: Rare second-half turnaround for Forest
There was little to separate the two sides in the capital, with West Ham producing 0.97 expected goals (xG) from 14 shots to Forest’s 1.35, which was boosted by the penalty, from 13 attempts.
Anderson will be hoping that England boss Thomas Tuchel catches wind of his performance. The Forest midfielder led his side in touches (85), passes attempted (55), duels won (10), possession won (11) and interceptions (two).
This was the 103rd time Forest have trailed at half-time in a Premier League game but just the second time they have come back to win (D19 L82), with their other victory coming back in January 1997 against Tottenham.
Meanwhile, only Bournemouth (16) have dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League this season than West Ham (15), with the Hammers failing to win any of their last five league matches when scoring first (D3 L2).
