Morgan Gibbs-White’s incredible second-half hat-trick gave Nottingham Forest a decisive 4-1 win at home to Burnley, boosting their hopes of staying in the league.
Forest were trailing 1-0, but Gibbs-White’s heroics sparked a dramatic turnaround and moved Vitor Pereira’s side into the top spot, five points behind 18th-placed Tottenham, who occupy the final relegation spot, with five games remaining.
Gibbs-White’s first 15-minute hat-trick of his career was another blow to Spurs, who tried to sign him last summer.
Forest’s come-from-behind victory at the City Ground left second-placed Burnley on the brink of an immediate return to the Championship, with the Clarets now 12 points clear of safety.
Burnley’s relegation will be confirmed if West Ham win against Crystal Palace on Monday (live on Sky Sports) and Scott Parker’s side fail to beat Manchester City at home on Wednesday (live on Sky Sports).
Burnley maintained their lead in first-half stoppage time with Jeanne Fleming’s opener, but Gibbs-White turned the game around.
His first shot on target equalized in the 62nd minute, and Forest took the lead just seven minutes later with a superb first-time volley from the back post.
The England international then completed his hat-trick with a superb header in the 77th minute, becoming the third player to score a Premier League hat-trick for Nottingham Forest, after Kevin Campbell and Chris Wood.
Substitute Igor Jesus added a fourth goal in stoppage time as the Reds continued their good form at the City Ground following midweek’s win over Porto and progressed to the Europa League semi-finals.
Forest scored with all their shots on target, securing their first home league win since December and extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven games.
Watch: Gibbs-White scores a stunning second-half hat-trick!
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Morgan Gibbs-White scored his second goal of the game, completing his hat-trick and giving Nottingham Forest a 3-1 lead in the Premier League match against Burnley.
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Morgan Gibbs-White gives Nottingham Forest the lead with his second goal of the match in the Premier League against Burnley.
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Morgan Gibbs-White scores Nottingham Forest’s equalizer against Burnley in the Premier League
Gibbs White: A big step towards PL safety
Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White told Sky Sports:
“Every game from now until the end of the season will be important for us, whether it’s the Europa League or the Premier League.
“Every game is a final and we have to treat it as such. These were the words of the coach and it was clear that we had to give everything.”
“We’re going to do that from now until the end of the season.
“This is a big step[towards the survival of the Premier League]. We have to wait and see what others do now.”
Pereira: We’ve proven we’re in this together and I believe
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Igor Jesus scores his second goal of the match as Nottingham Forest score their fourth in the Premier League against Burnley.
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira told Sky Sports.
“At half-time we have to change something and we are not just changing one player, we are trying to change different ways of finding space and demanding a fighting spirit from the players.
“In the end they showed character and quality to score four goals. I’m very happy for them and that’s why I gave them another day off.”
“As a team and with our supporters, we showed that we stuck together and believed until the end.
“Now it’s time to rest and start thinking about Sunderland. Every point is a step forward. We need to go with the mentality that we can score anywhere… It’s not about other teams, it’s about us.”
Parker: We looked very weak.
Burnley manager Scott Parker told Sky Sports:
“It’s very disappointing. Coming to a place where we’re fighting for our lives, I thought we did really well in the first half. I think we did everything we needed to do to get ahead.”
“In the second half we came out and looked the same as in the first half, but we just couldn’t defend the last 30 minutes as we were about to get the better of us (for Forest’s first goal).
“Then the four goals in the second half were very disappointing.
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Jeanne Fleming gives Burnley the lead just before the break in the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest.
“It’s definitely a matter of mentality in the moment. Momentum fluctuates in any fight and you can’t control it at any given moment, but we just couldn’t stand guard and get the jab out.
“We looked so weak and we couldn’t deal with it. I understand the hurt this group has. I saw it today.
“When they scored the first goal, I had a lot of doubts and a little bit of a lack of belief. In a deadly league like this one (bad result) can be the end and that was the case.”
“(This season) our inconsistency as a team has been very visible. There have been some very good performances and partly in-game factors, but for elite players at this level, consistency is an important part.”
“At times, we’ve shown two different sides. We’ve never lacked effort, but in certain moments, we’ve come up a little bit short.”
Anderson returns after his mother’s death
Elliott Anderson missed Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final against Porto, making his return to the Forest squad for the first time since the death of his mother.
The England midfielder laid flowers in the center circle ahead of kick-off and there was a minute of applause as the City Ground closed in behind the 23-year-old.
