Brighton & Hove Albion 2022-23 Season Review: January
Five matches. Four wins. One draw. 16 goals scored. January of the 2022-23 season was when everything clicked for Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi; DeZerbiBall consistently delivered in all its glory for the first time. And it was absolutely incredible.
The month began away at Everton and more than a few eyebrows were raised when the Albion starting XI at Goodison Park was announced.
Top scorer Leandro Trossard was dropped and replaced by 18-year-old Evan Ferguson making his full Premier League debut. Even with Trossard angling for a move away from the Amex, that was still a brave decision by De Zerbi at the time.
Ferguson scored twice against the Toffees to more than justify the faith of the manager. Also shining on Merseyside was Jeremy Sarmiento, who took over at number 10 from the rested Adam Lallana.
Sarmiento had never been used in such a central role by Brighton before. By full time, he had a hand in three Albion goals as the Seagulls hit a fab four in Liverpool.
Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring with 14 minutes played. The outstanding Moises Caicedo switched the ball out to the left flank where Mitoma collected, cut inside Nathan Patterson and Conor Coady and beat Jordan Pickford with a composed finish.
In scoreline terms at least, the game remained relatively tight at the end of the first half. Brighton though had dominated and that meant Everton being booed off by their fans as they headed into the break.
Those unhappy Bluenoses were about to become even more livid between minutes 51 and minute 57 as Brighton rained in three goals, causing the stands of Goodison to empty more quickly than you could say “Eh, eh, eh, calm down.”
Pervis Estupinan slipped in Sarmiento who tricked his way to the by-line and pulled a low cross back. Ferguson showed the sort of intelligence which was once the hallmark of Glenn Murray, checking his run to make enough space from which he could easily beat Pickford when the ball fell to him 10 yards out.
Solly March struck next to make it 3-0. Sarmiento laid off to Ferguson who switched to March. Having waited over two years for a Premier League goal before striking at Southampton a week earlier, March made it two in three games with a curling effort into the far corner from outside the box.
Everton were all at sea by this point, a fact hammered home by Pascal Gross running from halfway to add the fourth.
Rarely if ever can the line “Gross is racing clear” have been heard on commentary before but that is exactly what happened when he seized on a comedy back pass from Idrissa Gueye and advanced 40 yards to chip Pickford.
The Albion were on for the perfect away day right up until the final minute when Robert Sanchez ruined a shutout by conceding a brainless penalty, converted by Demari Gray.
Middlesbrough away in the FA Cup came next for Brighton in January, a banana skin of a tie against a side who would end the 2022-23 season the best of the rest in the Championship behind promoted duo Burnley and Sheffield United.
Having seen his side denied one potential route to silverware in an embarrassing exit from the Carabao Cup at the hands of Charlton Athletic the previous month, De Zerbi was not going to allow the same thing to happen again.
He named a ridiculously strong XI for the game at the Riverside Stadium, including the return of Lallana. Yes, De Zerbi really had rested one of the players he considered his most important for a Premier League fixture because he wanted him at 100 percent for an FA Cup third round tie at Middlesbrough.
The only real fringe members involved were Jason Steele, Jan Paul van Hecke and at a push, Tariq Lamptey. The result was an easy 5-1 victory and a mouth watering home tie with holders Liverpool in round four, once Jurgen Klopp and his players had overcome Wolves in a replay.
Brighton took the lead at Boro after eight minutes through Der Kapitan Gross. Middlesbrough soon equalised via Chuba Akpom, widely considered one of the worst Albion loan signings of recent times but now a deadly second tier striker seemingly.
Akpom’s goal increased the noise levels inside the Riverside Stadium and Brighton had to negotiate a tricky spell of home pressure before taking the game away from Boro.
Lallana made it 2-1 on the half hour mark. Alexis Mac Allister came on as a half time substitute for his first appearance since winning the World Cup, marking the occasion with two goals including a ridiculous back heel. Deniz Undav then completed the rout late on.
We learnt the full extent of the Trossard situation over the coming days, a key moment in the 2022-23 season which had the potential to derail the campaign for Brighton as the Vampire of Genk angled for a January move.
De Zerbi though handled it expertly. Trossard was put on gardening leave after De Zerbi accused him of not giving 100 percent after his return from the World Cup.
This not only protected harmony within the squad, but strengthened De Zerbi’s position. He was very much the boss, willing to jettison his leading goal getter who, only three months earlier, joined an exclusive club of only three Brighton players to ever score a top flight hat-trick.
Trossard’s agent next released a statement saying his client had been mistreated by De Zerbi. The Vampire of Genk was then spotted on the Eurotunnel 24 hours before Brighton hosted Liverpool in the Premier League, heading for an unknown destination on the continent. His own personal Brexit, if you like.
Whilst Trossard was paying 20 cents to go for a piss at a French motorway service station in the freezing cold January weather, Brighton delivered one of their most impressive performances of 2022-23 to blow Liverpool away.
Three first half bookings summed up the opening 45 minutes; Liverpool could not get close to the Albion and so resorted instead to kicking anything in blue and white to the ground.
The only thing missing from a scintillating first half display from Brighton was a goal. They put that right within 70 seconds of the restart, after which there was no looking back as the Albion sauntered to a 3-0 victory.
March continued his reinvention as a goal scorer, tapping home a Mitoma cross after Lallana won possession with an aggressive press against his former club.
Six minutes later and March was on target again. Caicedo found Ferguson to lay off to March. The Albion number seven still had plenty of work to do in providing a stunning left foot finish which had Alisson grasping at air as it flew into the far corner.
Liverpool were so rattled that Klopp made a quadruple substitution, as if he were managing the Mighty Ducks and instigating a line change rather than a game of Premier League football.
The Redmen were a little improved for it and Sanchez had to make one of his best saves of 2022-23, preserving a clean sheet for Brighton by keeping out an effort from Liverpool’s big-money January signing Cody Gakpo.
Danny Welbeck put the game beyond doubt nine minutes later, scoring with a goal that had shades of Paul Gascoigne for England against Scotland at Euro 96.
Dat Guy received a March pass, flicked the ball over Joe Gomez and then smashed a volley past Alisson for his first Premier League goal of the season. It proved well worth the wait.
“The best supporters in the world” began streaming out of the South Stand at that point, leaving the away end half empty.
Albion fans in contrast gave their team a standing ovation at the end. 61 years to the day of their only previous home league win over Liverpool, Brighton had humiliated the Reds 3-0 and talk of Europe moved from being tongue in cheek to genuine.
A valuable point was picked up in the final Premier League game of January thanks to a 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium. Brighton were not at their best but that hardly came as a surprise; the Albion tend to enjoy their visits to Leicester as much as Richard III.
Mitoma put Brighton 1-0 ahead with a goal similar to the one he had notched at Everton, cutting in from the left flank having tricked and teased an opposition full back and bending a right footed effort from outside the box into the top corner.
The Albion deserved their lead having been well in control. But when Lallana left proceedings with what turned out to be a season-ending injury, Brighton lost their way.
Leicester equalised six minutes before half time. Joel Veltman blocked a Harvey Barnes shot, Lewis Dunk did likewise to a Youri Tielemans effort before Marc Albrighton struck third time lucky to punish Brighton for failing to clear their lines effectively.
The first 15 minutes of the second half were manic. Brighton should have had a penalty on 51 when Welbeck was kicked by Luke Thomas inside the box after collecting a Mac Allister flick.
Referee Thomas Bramall remarkably waved away the appeals. Even more remarkably, VAR refused to take a look. De Zerbi lost his mind on the touchline and was booked for his troubles.
De Zerbi’s mood darkened further when the Foxes went 2-1 up shortly after from a corner. Van Hecke lost Barnes at the back post and the Dutch defender was then unconvincing in attempting to recover the situation as Barnes lashed home.
Ferguson was introduced from the bench as Brighton sought an equaliser and it was the teenage Irish striker who provided it with a brilliant bullet header from 18 yards out with power and precision into the bottom corner via the post.
January ended with a second game against Liverpool at the Amex in the space of two weeks, this time in the FA Cup. And just like the earlier Premier League meeting, it ended with the Albion victorious.
Before that though, there was more January transfer window drama for Brighton to navigate as Arsenal tried to boost their hopes of becoming Premier League champions 2022-23 by signing Caicedo.
First, Chelsea came in with a bid for the Ecuadorian international. Five months earlier and Graham Potter had put a value of £100 million on Caicedo when saying: “You’d probably get his boots for £42 million – maybe! £100 million? They can try!”
It therefore was considered something of a piss take when Glow Up came slithering back with a £55 million offer for the Ecuador international.
Arsenal responded by launching their own attempt to snare Caicedo. A best offer of £70 million was submitted but Brighton were never interested in selling a second player in January after Trossard completed his £27 million move to the Emirates, instead wanting to give De Zerbi the best chance of delivering European football and an extended run in the FA Cup.
Caicedo’s agent took to his client’s Instagram account, begging for a sale to the Gunners to be sanctioned. De Zerbi though won the day again, navigating a potentially difficult situation without any impact on Brighton’s performances or results.
Caicedo was told to stay away from the Albion for the final few days of the transfer window. In an instant, that quietened the circus surround him and Arsenal and allowed everything to blow over.
Once January was done and dusted, he would be integrated back into the squad… it turned out with stunning success; Caicedo’s Brighton performances being even better in the second half of 2022-23 after many predicted he would down tools in a sulk.
As a result of all those fun and games, Caicedo was absent as Brighton beat Liverpool. Klopp’s side proved to be even more violent in their attempts to disrupt DeZeriBall than they had a fortnight previously and should have ended the game with only nine men on the pitch.
Fabinho somehow escaped a red card after planting his studs on the back of Ferguson’s ankle. Fabinho himself appeared to expect a dismissal, only for referee David Coote and VAR to decide otherwise.
Less serious but also deserving of a card was Ibrahima Konate and his obvious shove which sent Mac Allister to the ground as he raced through on goal a short time before the challenge on Ferguson.
Konate had been booked earlier for a nasty foul on Ferguson, so even a yellow would have seen him heading for an early bath.
So blatant was what the outcome of those two challenges should have been that a cynic might have suggested the referee and VAR had been told to do everything possible to keep Liverpool in the FA Cup. If these were indeed attempts at engineering a result, then they proved futile.
The officials played a part in Liverpool taking the lead, ignoring Naby Keita handling before the Reds worked the ball to Mo Salah.
The second best Egyptian footballer of all time after Adam El-Abd played in Harvey Elliott and although Steele got a hand to the shot, he could not keep it out.
Neither Mr Coote or VAR could find reason to disallow the Albion’s equaliser 10 minutes later. Liverpool could only clear a corner to the edge of the box where Lamptey let rip from 30 yards.
Initially, it appeared to be Lamptey’s goal and he tore off celebrating, only for Dunk to do the same. Replays showed that the Albion captain had got an important touch to take the ball away from Alisson.
That meant Dunk achieving the impressive feat of scoring against Liverpool in the Premier League and FA Cup and for Liverpool in both competitions thanks to his penchant for own goals when facing the Reds earlier in his career.
It looked as though a replay might be needed right up until the last minute. Fittingly, the goal which won it for Brighton came as a result of another crude Liverpool tackle.
Andy Robertson found his way into the book for chopping down Mac Allister, giving Gross the chance to deliver a ball into the box from the subsequent free kick.
Over it came to Mitoma at the back post, who chop-flicked the ball over Joe Gomez and crashed home a volley for a quite sensational finish. VAR of course checked, desperate to find any possible reason to disallow it.
But VAR could not find anything wrong. A memorable January was capped off in brilliant style, Brighton celebrating another famous win over Liverpool, the sound of “Qué será, será, whatever will be, will be, we’re going to Wembley” ringing around the Amex as genuine dreams of Europe took hold of the 2022-23 season.
January 2023 record: P5 W4 D1 L0 F16 A5
Results: 4-1 v Everton (A), 5-1 v Middlesbrough (A), 3-0 v Liverpool (H), 2-2 v Everton (A), 2-1 v Liverpool (H)
League position at the end of the month: 6th
WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month: Kaoru Mitoma
