Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi delivered a fine performance on Friday evening, providing an assist as Nottingham Forest cruised to a five-star away victory over Sunderland in the Premier League.

The Super Eagles star came off the bench to set up the goal that sealed a 5-0 thrashing of the hosts at the Stadium of Light, Footballrover reports.

Taiwo Awoniyi assist sparks Nottingham Forest 5-0 rout

Introduced late in the game to replace Chris Wood with just two minutes of regulation time remaining, Awoniyi needed only seven minutes on the pitch to make his impact once again.

The Nigerian international, who has seen limited game time and has often been restricted to the bench, registered his first assist of the season, taking his total goal contributions to three in 13 appearances.

While the 28-year-old forward grabbed the headlines despite his brief cameo, his compatriot Ola Aina also featured, putting in a solid shift to help secure the emphatic win and all three points.

With that assist, Awoniyi finds renewed hope; it’s his first goal contribution since March 22, where he scored to help Forest secure a dominant 3-0 victory over Tottenham.

Nottingham Forest delivered a devastating first-half performance at the Stadium of Light, crushing Sunderland to move eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Building on their recent momentum, the Tricky Trees scored four goals before the interval for the second consecutive match, effectively ending the contest within 45 minutes.

The rout began with a Trai Hume own-goal in the 17th minute. Sunderland’s defensive discipline then crumbled as a goalkeeper error allowed Chris Wood to score, followed quickly by a strike from the clinical Morgan Gibbs-White.

Igor Jesus added a fourth with a powerful volley before halftime, prompting many home fans to exit early.

Awoniyi stats show impact despite limited minutes

Sunderland’s attempts to recover in the second half were thwarted when a Dan Ballard goal was disallowed by VAR for a foul.

Despite Forest focusing more on defensive discipline and picking up several bookings after the break, they added a fifth in stoppage time through Elliot Anderson who pulled the trigger off Awoniyi’s simple pass.

This victory extends Forest’s unbeaten run to eight matches and provides the perfect springboard for their upcoming Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa.

And for Sunderland, their European hopes have faded following their fourth home defeat in five games, leaving them stagnant in 11th place.

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Last Updated on April 24, 2026 11:04 pm by footballrover