Brighton 3-1 Southampton: We’re all going on a European Tour
Brighton 3-1 Southampton was the worst nightmare of Nigel Farrage. Over 30,000 people singing about Europe and there was even an EU flag whipped out in the West Upper after the final whistle blew with the Albion having confirmed their participation in the Europa League next season.
Brighton & Hove Albion. Europa League. It does not feel real. 26 years ago and the Seagulls were homeless, broke and celebrating avoiding relegation to the Conference. A relegation which almost certainly would have put the club out of business.
14 years ago and it was a great escape from demotion out of League Two, masterminded by the shiny bonce of Russell Slade, the goals of Lloyd Owusu and Gary Hart turning into Stansted’s version of Lionel Messi for a couple of weeks.
Even as recently as eight years ago, Brighton only escaped relegation out of the Championship because Blackpool, Wigan Athletic and Millwall all conspired to be three of the worst teams in second tier history at the same time.
Chris Hughton did not really keep the Albion up; they survived by default. But since that atrocious 2014-15 season, there has been no looking back.
Hughton led Brighton to the Premier League. Graham Potter built on the foundations and turned the Albion from perennial relegation candidates to a side capable of challenging for the top 10.
When Potter then walked out for Chelsea in September, it was meant to be the end for Brighton. Or so almost everyone thought.
Tony Bloom is the best owner in world football for a reason, however. And he already had a far superior manager to Potter lined up to take over. Step forward, Roberto De Zerbi.
What has happened since De Zerbi took the wheel is genuinely incredible. How many other teams would not only survive the upheaval of a head coach walking out and taking his entire staff with him, but thrived to the point they achieve something never before accomplished in 122 years?
Brighton being Brighton, they decided to put us all through the ringer as only a club who goes from losing 5-1 at home against Everton to beating Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium can.
Southampton should have gone 1-0 up before the Albion scored their opening goal, which might well have made this a very different game.
And shortly after the Saints pulled one back, they saw an equaliser chalked off by VAR for an offside which nobody inside the Amex seemed to have spotted.
Southampton were building a pretty decent amount of momentum at that point which was suddenly checked. A scoreline which could have been Brighton 2-2 Southampton then instead became 3-1 thanks to Pascal Gross.
There could not have been a more fitting individual to score the goal which essentially secured European football than Der Kaiser.
Without Gross and all his goals and assists, Brighton would have been relegated in 2017-18 and 2020-21. He said during the lap of honour afterwards that qualifying for Europe was the best day of his football life. Yours and ours, Pascal.
That quite incredible Saints miss came from Carlos Alcaraz. A Brighton attack broke down, Southampton countered and all Alcaraz had to do was pick his spot beyond Jason Steele.
Instead, he fired miles wide with the goal gaping. Squandering such a gilt-edged opportunity explains why Southampton are heading into the Championship.
Karou Mitoma passed up an equally glorious chance midway through the first half. The Saints played what felt like a 100 pass move which then went awry when Alex McCarthy gave the ball to Jan Bednarek under pressure.
Mitoma stole possession and found himself in one-on-one with McCarthy, only to dink his effort against the post. The best two chances of the opening 25 minutes had resulted in two fantastic cock ups.
A goalkeeping cock up gifted Brighton the lead just before the half hour mark. Alexis Mac Allister found Evan Ferguson who shot straight at McCarthy, yet somehow the ball went through the Saints netminder as if he were Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Five minutes before half time and Ferguson doubled the advantage. Mitoma charged forward, outmuscled Romeo Lavia and played a superb pass with the outside of his right boot curled perfectly into the run of Ferguson.
The teenager did not have to break stride, simply applying the finishing touch beyond McCarthy. Brighton led 2-0 and Europe seemed all but secure with the concourses partying at half time, even though the West Upper had scandalously sold out of red wine.
What will French teams think of such an incident should Brighton be paired with someone from Ligue 1 next season? Although to be fair, that might be a good thing.
Supporters of Nice or Marseille who are used to a lovely drop of Bordeaux are going to have a bloody culture shock when presented with a ghastly bottle of A Day at the Vineyards in a plastic cup.
De Zerbi made a change at half time, replacing Julio Enciso with Facundo Buonanotte. Enciso had struggled to make much headway with his first four touches resulting in four Southampton throw ins. A reminder that despite his very obvious talents, he is still very young and very raw.
One of Buaonotte’s first tasks was to watch Southampton pull one back. James Ward-Prowse showcased the set piece prowess which is sure to give him a number of Premier League suitors this summer, swinging over a corner headed home by Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Conceding seemed to rattle the Albion and five minutes later Southampton thought they had a leveller. Theo Walcott raced clear and beat Steele, only for VAR to rule that the former England international had strayed a millimetre offside.
That was a let off and a warning for Brighton, one which they duly heeded as they reasserted authority on their way to taking a 3-1 lead over Southampton.
A corner from Mac Allister was only half cleared to the edge of the box where Gross was lurking. Der Kaiser stepped inside Lavia and fired a shot towards goal which beat McCarthy at his near post.
Mac Allister and substitutes Danny Welbeck and Deniz Undav all went close to extending the lead but Brighton did not require another goal as it finished Albion 3-1 Southampton. Just the third time since 1957 that the Seagulls have defeated the Saints in Sussex.
The roar which greeted the full time whistle could have been heard in Dublin, which is where Brighton will hope their season finishes in a years time with the Europa League final at the Aviva Stadium.
Brighton & Hove Albion. Europa League. It will never get old saying those two phrases together. A phenomenal campaign delivered by a phenomenal manager, with the promises of more to come in 2023-24.
See you in Poland in October for an ice cold Zywiec from the tap and the Albion taking over the continent.
