Brighton’s breakthrough: Analysing key moments in the 2023-24 EPL season
The beginning of the season did not look good for Brighton Hove & Albion when a few of their key players left with the transfer market.
We saw the departure of Moses Caicedo to Chelsea, Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool, and Robert Sanchez to Chelsea.
Not many would have thought Roberto De Zerbi would make a stellar team with what he had, but we were in for many surprises.
Our first surprise of the league came when Brighton won six out of six consecutive games from their first match, netting at least three goals in each match they won.
Image Credit: The Independent
In weeks after the streak, we saw them show resilience against big teams, sometimes clinching wins or draws while others ended in defeat.
Currently, of twenty-five matches played, Brighton has won ten, drawn eight, and lost seven. This puts them in the seventh position of the league, above a big team like Chelsea.
You can check out these predictions on Brighton’s fixtures for the remaining matches of the season. However, in the following headings, we’ll analyse their key EPL moments so far.
Their First Three Games
Brighton Hove & Albion started the season with a match against Luton Town. EPL predictions favoured Brighton to win because Luton Town was only newly promoted to the big league.
However, predictions did not foresee the intensity and brilliance with which Roberto De Zerbi’s team played. The game ended 4-1 in Brighton’s favour, but that was only the beginning of their winning streak.
Brighton’s second game was against Wolves, well-known for their excellent teamwork on the pitch. This match was quite the rivalry, resulting in a red card for Wolves’ Matheus Nunes.
However, it seemed Brighton was going to be unstoppable, scoring goals already from the 15th minute. They won this match by 4 goals to 1 again. They were already securing a spot for themselves in the top ten of the league.
Their third game was against West Ham, who were placed as favorites to win against Brighton Hove & Albion. Analysts referred to this third game as the eye-opener for Brighton, where they lost 3-1 to West Ham at home.
It seemed their tactics and motivation were simply no match for West Ham, who scored all three goals before Brighton could clinch one in the 81st minute.
It was a pivotal moment that prompted Roberto De Zerbi to go back to the drawing board and reassess his formation and tactics for the common matches.
Their Comeback Against Newcastle United
After the loss to West Ham United, Brighton had to revive themselves against Newcastle United. This was one of the key moments, as Newcastle was supposedly a stronger team than Brighton. H
owever, from the match, it would seem Roberto De Zerbi understood what needed to be done for a comeback against Newcastle United.
It was a game of dominance, with Brighton having 15 total shots and six on target. The overall possession of Newcastle was 56%, and they won the game 3-1.
Not many football predictions today would have picked Brighton to win with at least three goals against Newcastle. From the performance, it was evident that the team was prepared for the league, and this was one of the key moments that displayed that.
Image Credit: Football Today
The Match Against Manchester United
Brighton was to face Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United after the win to Newcastle United. Roberto De Zerbi started the match with a 2-4-4 build-up against a 4-4-2 build-up of Manchester United.
The latter team used a diamond-press attack, which did not sustain them for long in the match. Brighton struck first in the 20th minute with a goal from Danny Welbeck, which was all the action the first half got.
The second half was more eventful but in favor of Brighton. In the 53rd minute, Pascal Groß scored the second goal for Brighton, and the win was sealed by a third goal from Joao Pedro in the 71st minute. Manchester United only took advantage of Brighton’s reverie to score a goal two minutes later.
This match against Manchester United was the confidence booster, with Brighton going ahead to win their next match against Bournemouth in a 3-1 win. At this point, Brighton had earned 15 points to be one of the top ten teams in the league.
The Humiliating Loss To Aston Villa
Aston Villa used a similar diamond press against Brighton, as we witnessed in the match against Manchester United. To speculating fans, predictions on the Brighton match would have ended in both teams scoring, with the edge to win on Brighton.
However, the diamond formation of Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, and Nicolo Zaniolo ruined Brighton’s defense.
Brighton kept losing possession to Aston Villa, which they capitalized on at every moment. The significant difference between Aston Villa and Manchester United was that the forward players of Aston Vila were more focused on breaking through Brighton’s double pivot than going against their center-backs. Also, they were quite creative in blocking passes from Brighton and marking a man two-to-one in most cases.
Unfortunately for Brighton, they could not muster any tactical defense against Aston Villa’s press. It was a game of confusion and disorganization that Brighton’s Pervis Estupinan scored an own goal to give Aston Villa their third goal. The game ended in a 6-1 win for Aston Villa, taking the Villans to the top four spot on the table.
The Tussle With Liverpool
Losing 6 – 1 to Aston Villa was a hit EPL predictions didn’t foresee coming and was thought to put a dent in Brighton’s motivation for the next match.
It so happened that the next match was against Liverpool, a strong contender for the EPL title. However, what we witnessed was a rebirth and tactical brilliance from Brighton.
Roberto De Zerbi stuck to the same 2-4-4 build-up, putting Igor Julio and Dunk as the center-backs. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool used the same diamond attack style seen in the match against Aston Villa.
But Roberto had acclimatized Groß to attacking styles that might come up, prompting him to work closely with Igor Julio and Dunk to form a strong three opposition against Mohammed Salad, Nunez, and Szoboszlai.
This tactic had Brighton matching Liverpool in play, with 14 shots each for both teams at the end of the match. Although Liverpool had better possession, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. To Brighton Hove & Albion, this was a major comeback from the humiliating loss against Aston Villa.
Image Credit: Albawaba
The Win Against Tottenham Hotspur
After the draw against Liverpool, Brighton went on a series of draws, losses, and wins against small and big teams in the League.
Immediately after the Liverpool game, there was a 2-1 loss to Manchester City. This was followed by a 1-1 draw to Fulham, a 1-1 draw to Everton, a 1-1 draw to Sheffield United, a 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest, and a 3-2 loss to Chelsea.
Their run in the league continued with a 2-1 win against Brentford, a 1-1 draw to Burnley, a 2-0 loss to Arsenal, and a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
The next match after a 1-1 draw to Crystal Palace was against Tottenham Hotspur, a team seated at number five on the table.
From Brighton’s performance, they came well-prepared for the match, scoring in the first 11 minutes. In the 23rd minute, Brighton was awarded a penalty, giving them a 2 – 0 lead. This had already demotivated their opponent, who had only three on-target out of 19 shots in the game.
In the 63rd minute, Pervis Estupinan scored the third goal, and finally, a penalty goal in the 75th minute by Joao Pedro. Tottenham had a moment of spur, scoring two goals within four minutes. However, that was it for the match, ending in a 4-2 win for Brighton.
So far, Brighton has continued with inconsistent results, having wins, losses, and draws, especially playing teams they’ve met before.
Conclusion
Brighton has had a pretty decent run in the 2023/24 season of the English Premier League. With about 13 game days left, pressure is high on teams to seal their positions permanently on the table.
There are a lot of surprises still to come from Brighton this season, and we’ll update you with football predictions and analysis from our professional analysts.
