De Zerbi has Brighton looking to the future rather than the past
Brighton’s 2-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium was only the Albion’s third away win over Bournemouth in 30 years.
It is a telling statistic that in microcosm reveals a lot about this current Seagulls set up under Roberto De Zerbi. They are not looking to the past, rather forging their own future.
On paper it was a game Brighton could, and should, have won. Bournemouth have shown flashes this season, with good results against Liverpool and Fulham recently, but most neutrals would have had this down as an away win.
So it proved to be, but the Cherries certainly made the Seagulls work extremely hard for maximum points last night on the south coast.
In many ways, this was quite a different kind of performance from De Zerbi’s side. Yes, they still enjoyed the lion’s share of possession – an impressive 63 percent – but were denied time and space on many occasions in midfield and in forward areas, meaning they were not at their free-flowing, attacking best.
Albion needed patience, resilience, and a fair amount of good fortune to get the better of a hard-working Bournemouth side.
It is no surprise that Moises Caicedo, once again, stood out in midfield. His positional intelligence is staggering, especially given his age.
Not only is he usually in the right place at the right time, but he normally makes the right decision in possession as well.
Thankfully, it appears the injury that forced him off in the second half is not as serious as it first seemed, with the club stating that he should be fine to face Tottenham on Saturday.
In a first half lacking in quality, it was a moment of pure magic that gave Albion the lead. Kaoru Mitoma had been kept relatively quiet up until the 28th minute, when he was able to play a ball across to Evan Ferguson for a delightfully cheeky back-heeled finish. It was a sublime touch that gave Bournemouth’s goalkeeper, Neto, no chance.
A slice of good fortune for the Albion saw the Cherries waste a gilt-edged chance a few moments later when Hamed Traore poked wide of Jason Steele’s goal after getting on the wrong side of Lewis Dunk.
The second half saw more dogged defending from Brighton as Bournemouth pressed further. Jefferson Lerma’s strike from outside the box forced another good save from Steele, while Lewis Dunk had to be alert to out-muscle Dominic Solanke.
Then at the other end, Solly March fired a ball into Ferguson who perhaps should have done better with his instinctive finish. Neto was called into action again when Pascal Gross’s first-time effort stung his palms.
It was a combination of Gross and substitute Julio Enciso that provided the second half’s biggest moment of quality, which would go on to settle the tie.
Gross fizzed a ball into the Paraguayan teenager’s feet in the box and, after a neat turn, Enciso appeared to have the freedom of the city before coolly slotting home his first goal for the club. Gross’s ability to somehow consistently go under the radar and produce time and time again for the Albion is a real wonder.
Alexis Mac Allister quietly ran things in the midfield for Brighton, alongside Caicedo. Fortunately, the Argentine’s injury that also saw him go off in the second half doesn’t seem to have ruled him out of the Spurs clash either.
This was the first of three tough away games in the Premier League, with visits to Spurs and Chelsea to come in the next couple of weeks ahead of the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley. It was a stern test, and one that Brighton passed with a couple of moments of class.
There is no reason why this Albion side should be fearful of anyone they have yet to play this season, with the possible exception of Arsenal and Manchester City – and even then, you know they will give it a right good go.
Whilst finishing in the top four seems unlikely, De Zerbi’s insistence that this should be the target tells us everything we need to know about the head coach’s ambition.
The Seagulls are on the longest current unbeaten away run in the Premier League (seven matches) and should use that as great motivation for their upcoming fixtures in the capital.
Regardless of where Brighton actually finish this season, some of the football played under De Zerbi has been electrifying.
Future seasons featuring the Seagulls pushing for European positions should not be a surprise to anyone, instead of worrying about why Albion teams of the past have rarely been able to win at Bournemouth.
Mark Elms @Mark_Elms71
