Brighton 1-0 The Leeds United: Albion top Premier League for 4 minutes
For four fleeting yet beautiful minutes in the aftermath of Pascal Gross scoring the only goal of the game in Brighton 1-0 The Leeds United, an event most people never believed possible took place.
The Albion sat top of the Premier League. 25 years and 12 days on from struggling to a 1-1 draw against Macclesfield Town at the bottom of Nationwide Division Three in their first home game at the Priestfield Stadium, Brighton were officially the best team in England.
Crystal Palace of course had to ruin it. Within 300 seconds of Gross’ shot hitting the back of the net, the Eagles fell behind to Manchester City on their way to a 4-2 defeat. Pep Guardiola’s side overtook the Seagulls on goal difference.
Still, we will milk that moment for all its worth. “We’re Brighton & Hove Albion, we’re top of the league” rang around the Amex, drowning out the homophobes and knuckle draggers amongst the travelling fans.
Pockets of The Leeds United supporters were their normal charming selves. There were reports of outbreaks of racism, a lot of homophobia both in person and online.
And of course the utter delusion that seems to stem from whatever they put in the water in that part of the world. Brighton were lucky. Brighton had paid the referee. Brighton got all the decisions for being gays. Brighton are shit and will soon fall away. The Leeds United should be beating #TeamsLikeBrighton.
Except of course, they hardly ever do. Brighton 1-0 The Leeds United meant that since Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named delivered the League One title in 2011 and promotion to the Championship, the Seagulls have lost only twice in 16 matches against the World’s Biggest Football Club.
This latest success should have been by more than one goal. Brighton were guilty of squandering a lot of good opportunities. On other occasions, they harked back to the bad old days of not shooting.
After a first half in which The Leeds United had found their goal peppered and Robert Sanchez been a virtual spectator, there was a familiar phrase on the concourse of the West Upper.
“This has got Leeds 1-0 written all over it,” said more than a few Brighton fans. We had been here before, so many times. The Albion dominate. Fail to score. Opposition net with their only meaningful effort.
Gross though had other ideas. Der Kaiser has been in irresistible form this season; as Graham Potter said after, quite possibly the form of his life.
His third goal in three games arrived on 66 minutes and was clinically despatched into the bottom corner with power and precision.
There was a VAR check for offside against Danny Welbeck and it looked mighty close according to those inline with it inside the Amex.
Dat Guy was deemed to have been in a legal position when collecting from Moises Caicedo and then finding Leandro Trossard, who did the rest in teeing up Gross.
Trossard’s first half decision making had been a world away from that lovely pass and assist. Perhaps his mind was impacted by the pyro display let off when the teams came onto the field for the second home game running, which left smoke and the smell of fireworks blowing across the Amex as the match kicked off?
The irony of this new way to welcome the players has not been lost on anyone. One minute, the Albion are telling supporters anyone with a flare will face a ban.
That those who do let off pyros are selfish and inconsiderate of fellow supporters who may have health issues exacerbated by the smoke.
The next minute, they are putting on a pyro display that would make Guy Fawkes blush and subjecting 30,000 to those risks.
All that money spent on fireworks could surely be better used elsewhere, like removing the £2.50 booking fee for fans who wish to print their own tickets at home? One for Brighton Fans’ Forum Dave to write another poem about.
Twice in the first half Trossard tried to cut inside and onto his right foot when a left footed first time effort was begging. Both moments of hesitation allowed The Leeds United defenders to recover and the danger passed.
Adam Webster put two headers off target. The second was a golden opportunity, coming when he was left totally free to meet a pinpoint Gross free kick. For the ball to end up in amongst the travelling fans rather than troubling Illan Meslier was unforgivable.
Solly March was the biggest culprit when it came to not scoring. He was absolutely superb down the right flank, single handedly getting Marc Rosa and Pascal Strujik booked as the visitors had no answer to stopping March other than fouling him.
If March could finish, then he would be world class. His two first half efforts were far too easy for Meslier. In the second half, he then put a great one-on-one chance straight at the Peacocks goalkeeper after Gross split the defence and lifted another shot miles over the bar. A good three points in rugby; a terrible finish in football.
The Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch provided plenty of entertainment on the touchline. The American frequently wandered down the pitch and miles out of his technical area, eventually earning a booking for one rant too far in which you could see actual steam coming out of his ears. Or maybe it was lingering smoke from the earlier pyro display?
Marsch did manage to turn the tide briefly with two substitutions on the hour mark which led to the Peacocks’ best spell.
Pervis Estupinan had enjoyed an encouraging full Premier League debut but was beginning to tire, as evidenced when he inadvertently knocked the ball past Sanchez when attempting to clear.
One of those visiting substitutes, Luis Sinisterra, simply had to guide the ball into the empty net at the back post to give The Leeds United the lead.
Somehow, he scuffed wide on the slide. Not only was it a miracle that Brighton survived, but it was also a miracle that Sinisterra had managed to provide the most astonishing miss of the game on an afternoon when the Albion were excelling in that department.
Sanchez next had to stand big to keep out a Rodrigo effort after The Leeds United sliced through Brighton too easily via some nice passing football.
Then came the Albion goal, by this point against the run of play. That seemed to deflate the visitors and Potter made some clever substitutions in the final 20 minutes to further take the sting out of the game, helping it to end Brighton 1-0 The Leeds United.
By the time the final whistle blew, Brighton had four centre backs on the pitch – Levi Colwill, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk and Webster – plus another defender in Tariq Lamptey. Enock Mwepu finished the match as a false nine, a position he cannot have played many times in his life.
The closest The Leeds United came to breaking through was when Diego Llorente glanced a free kick wide. The marking was poor, but the Albion survived.
After 360 minutes of Premier League football, only Alexis Mac Allister has managed to find a way past Sanchez via his own goal in the opening day 2-1 win at Manchester United.
They say that forwards win you games and defences win you titles. All the while opponents cannot find a way through Brighton, the Seagulls will continue soaring near the top of the table.
Or in the case of Saturday 27th August, actually sit at the top of the table. What a glorious four minutes.
