NOTTINGHAM, England: Nottingham Forest made the most of Edson Alvarez’s dismissal from West Ham United with a convincing 3-0 win on Saturday that lifted them to third place in the Premier League, with Chris Wood, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina getting the goals.

Having battled relegation before finishing 17th last season, Forest’s bright start this season has taken them to 19 points from 10 games, six behind Liverpool and four behind second-placed Manchester City, while West Ham is in 14th place with 11 points.

Buoyed by their fans, Forest started well and took the lead in the 27th minute when Wood broke the deadlock with a traditional striker’s goal when Moreno slid down the left and produced a perfect cross for the New Zealander to head home.

West Ham’s chances of a comeback suffered a blow when Alvarez received his first yellow card in the 39th minute and then followed up in first-half stoppage time with a clumsy sliding tackle on Anthony Elanga, resulting in a red card. .

Lucas Paqueta had almost equalized with West Ham’s first shot on target just before the break and although they kept pace, Álvarez’s sending-off finally took the visitors’ breath away as Forest took advantage of the man advantage.

The Hammers fell further behind in the 65th when Hudson-Odoi’s sweet shot from outside the box deflected on its way in and Aina secured victory with a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner in the 78th.

The hosts thought they would have the fourth goal in added time, but Ryan Yates’ shot was disallowed for offside following a VAR check. However, there were plenty of celebrations at the end as Forest’s third successive win saw them join the challengers at the top of the table.