Brighton & Hove Albion 2022-23 Season Review: May
Brighton & Hove Albion have always been a bizarre football club and it was therefore very apt that they qualified for European football for the first time ever at the end of the 2022-23 season in a very strange month of May.
It veered from impressive victory to heavy defeat and back again. What team other than the Albion could go from losing 5-1 at home against relegation threatened Everton to winning 3-0 away at Arsenal to effectively end the Gunners’ title challenge?
Seven matches were crammed into four weeks and none went as predicted. As fatigue caused by a brutal final two months of the campaign took its tool and Roberto De Zerbi opted to rotate his squad, nobody knew what to expect when they rocked up to watch Brighton.
Manchester United provided the first opponents of May. Just 11 days had passed since Brighton suffered a heart breaking penalty shootout defeat in the semi finals of the 2022-23 FA Cup to the Red Devils.
What unfolded at the Amex could therefore not have gone much better. The Albion gained their revenge, picking up three precious points via a 99th minute spot kick converted by Alexis Mac Allister.
Not only was the script perfect with regards to what had unfolded at Wembley, but it also mirrored that ridiculous September 2020 afternoon when United were awarded a penalty after the final whistle had blown to leave Sussex with a 3-2 victory.
Both Jason Steele and David De Gea excelled in their respective goals on a pleasant Sussex evening. The statistics suggested that Brighton slightly shaded it, leading the possession numbers 60-40 and the shot count 22-16. Shots on target was a very even 6-5 in favour of the hosts.
And right up until the final seconds, it looked like the performance of the two goalkeepers would ensure the spoils were shared in a goalless draw.
That was until a Solly March corner hit the hand of Luke Shaw. There were half-hearted Brighton appeals for a penalty but the fact the game continued, Kaoru Mitoma had an effort blocked on the line by Bruno Fernandes and then De Gea saved brilliantly at full stretch from Moises Caicedo suggested nobody really thought it was a spot kick.
Suddenly though, the game stopped. Referee Andre Mariner was eventually told to go to the screen, watched it back and realised Shaw had handled. Mr Mariner pointed to the spot and Brighton had a chance to win it.
United did their best to disrupt, delay and put off Mac Allister. You could feel the tension pulsating from the stands before a deathly silence descended as Mac Allister prepared to take.
The World Cup winner stood over the ball for an age after Mr Mariner blew his whistle for the penalty to be taken. Mac Allister composed himself and then struck high and hard into the top corner, followed by an explosion of noise you could hear miles away from the Amex.
It was less celebration and more a cathartic release of emotion. Europe was a step closer, United vanquished with Brighton doing a double over the Red Devils for the first time and the hurt of Wembley could abate just a little.
Supporters remained on cloud nine for several days after Brighton 1-0 Manchester United, knowing that three victories from the remaining six games would secure a top seven finish no matter what. Europa Conference football was in the Albion’s own hands.
Albion being Albion, everyone was brought back down to Earth with an almighty bump just 96 hours later by Everton.
The Toffees arrived in Brighton sat 19th in the table and having scored only 16 times in five months between December and May since the 2022-23 Premier League season resumed following the winter break.
Full time at the Amex – Brighton 1-5 Everton. Abdoulaye Doucoure had the visitors 2-0 ahead inside of 30 minutes. It was 3-0 before half time when Dwight McNeil forced Steele into scoring a comedic own goal.
McNeil added two himself in the second half having turned into prime Stanley Matthews with the Albion’s consolation coming from Mac Allister.
With impeccable timing, Brighton paraded new club-record £30 million signing Joao Pedro on the pitch during the interval having confirmed his capture from Watford the day after the win over United.
God knows what he made of it all, stood there in the pouring rain having just witnessed Brighton ship three first half goals to the lowest scoring team in the Premier League. Welcome to the Albion, Joao. It is not this shit every week, honestly.
De Zerbi underlined that point, using his post-match interview to promise Brighton fans it would not be that shit at Arsenal six days later either.
“I spoke with the players as I do after every game,” De Zerbi said. “I think on Sunday we will show our quality, we will get back to our style and you will see the true Brighton.”
De Zerbi and the Albion lived up to those words and then some. Arsenal had to win to stand any chance of hanging onto the coattails of Manchester City in the title race but despite the importance of the fixture for them, they could not lay a glove on Brighton.
Julio Enciso opened the scoring six minutes into the second half. The Gunners became increasingly frantic after falling behind, leading to Mikel Arteta going too far and earning a booking for his theatrics on the side line.
Arsenal’s fate was sealed with four minutes of normal time remaining when Brighton scored their second. Leandro Trossard got the assist despite having swapped the Amex for the Emirates in a £27 million transfer back in January when his loose pass was intercepted by Pascal Gross.
The ball rebounded off Gross towards Deniz Undav, who found himself in one-on-one with Aaron Ramsdale. Undav was calmness personified as he lobbed the ball over the Gunners goalkeeper, sparking 2-0 a mass exodus of Arsenal fans.
Those who remained were treated to the sight of Pervis Estupinan adding a third in injury time. De Zerbi slid on his knees in celebration as Brighton rounded off arguably their best away performance of the 2022-23 season, needing just two wins now in what remained of May.
The trip to Newcastle United could not provide the next three points as the Albion again veered from brilliant win to heavy defeat, losing 4-1 at St James’ Park.
Undav had a particularly interesting evening. He scored a superb glancing header past Steele for an own goal and then gave away the free kick which led to the Saudi Sportswasher’s doubling their advantage before half time.
Next came a goal at the right end, Undav latching onto a visionary defence splitting pass from Billy Gilmour. Brighton threw everything they had at Newcastle in the search for an equaliser from that point on, leaving themselves somewhat vulnerable on the break.
The Toon took full advantage with counter attacking goals in the final few minutes from Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes.
Defeat on Tyneside was soon forgotten, however, when Aston Villa were held 1-1 at Liverpool. Brighton now knew that victory over Southampton in their fifth game of May would guarantee sixth spot come the end of the 2022-23 season, presuming Villa were not able to initiate a 16 goal swing in their favour when the Albion went to Birmingham on the final day.
Beating Southampton was easier said than done, of course. The Saints might have already been relegated, but Everton were hardly pulling up any trees and they won 5-1 at the Amex.
Throw in the fact that the Albion had beaten Southampton only twice in Sussex in their previous 20 attempts stretching back 66 years to 1957 and there was enough doubt to have some Brighton fans worried.
We need not have been. By full time, “We’re all going on a European tour” was ringing around the Amex. A 3-1 victory meant that 26 years after being homeless, broke and celebrating avoiding relegation to the Conference, Brighton were heading into Europe for the first time.
Two Evan Ferguson goals had the Albion ahead going into the break. There was a bit of a wobble after half time, Mohamed Elyounoussi pulling one back and then Theo Walcott seeing an effort ruled out for the tightest of offside margins by VAR.
Gross was the man who put a stop to any hopes the Saints had of a comeback, firing a clinical effort low and hard into the back of the net after a Mac Allister corner was only half cleared.
The players paraded around the pitch afterwards and De Zerbi was filmed that Sunday night dancing on the bar of a pub in town.
2022-23 was not yet done though and Brighton still had two May fixtures to complete. De Zerbi said he wanted a result against Manchester City to bring Europa League football to the Amex by points rather than goal difference.
City had already been crowned champions, were eyeing up both the FA Cup and Champions League and came to the Amex having won 12 consecutive Premier League matches.
What followed was one of the most entertaining games the Albion have ever been involved in. Two teams playing attacking football and going hell for leather against each other. Most impressively of all, Brighton proved more than a match for the eventual treble winners.
Phil Foden gave City the lead with his normal goal against the Albion. Some thought the floodgates might open after that, especially with De Zerbi having opted to rest Lewis Dunk and name a centre back partnership of Levi Colwill and Jan Paul van Hecke to deal with Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Foden and the rest.
Brighton though soon equalised when WAB May Player of the Month Enciso struck the winner of both the Premier League and BBC Match of the Day Goal of the 2022-23 Season awards.
Enciso picked the ball up just inside the City half, advancing to around 30 yards out. With little in the way of passing options, he went for it with a shot consisting of power, pace, swerve and dip which hit a postage stamp sized area of the very top corner of Stefan Ortega’s goal.
Rather than cheers greeting the strike, there was the sound of 32,000 people collectively gasping. City fans behind the South Stand goal had their hands on their heads and mouths wide open in shock. One even started applauding before the ball had hit the back of the net.
There were no further goals despite the best efforts of both sides. Brighton were treated to their second standing ovation in three days with sixth spot now guaranteed, even if the Albion lost 17-0 at Villa Park.
The pressure was off going into the final day. Brighton played some decent stuff at Villa but the hosts were fired up, knowing three points meant they qualified for the Europa League ahead of Spurs.
After that VAR skulduggery when the Albion were cheated out of a win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the previous month, some Seagulls supporters were secretly hoping the result went the way of Villa.
And it did. Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins put Villa 2-0 ahead before the 30 minute mark. Undav continued his fine finish to 2022-23 with a third goal in seven May appearances to pull one back before half time but it proved nothing more than a consolation as Brighton went down 2-1.
The most incredible season in Albion history had come to a finish. From the despair and worry caused when Graham Potter walked out just five games in to the euphoria of the chaotic final two months, it proved to be an incredible ride.
In eight months at the Amex, De Zerbi achieved what no other Brighton manager had managed in 122 years. A top six finish and European football.
Never has the future of the Albion appeared so bright or exciting. 2023-24 will come with its challenges, not least the added fixtures the Europa League will bring and the continued interest in Brighton players from clubs with far more money.
But under De Zerbi, anything seems possible. These are the greatest days to support Brighton & Hove Albion. Enjoy them.
May 2023 record: P7 W3 D1 L3 F11 A13
Results: 1-0 v Manchester United (H), 1-5 v Everton (H), 3-0 v Arsenal (A), 1-4 v Newcastle (A), 3-1 v Southampton (H), 1-1 v Manchester City (H), 1-2 v Aston Villa (A)
League position at the end of the month: 6th
WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month: Julio Enciso
