De Zerbi showed his intuition and judgement against Wolves
April 29th is a very special day for me. It is my wedding anniversary. And what better way for my wife and I to celebrate than Brighton putting six goals past Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Amex?
Where do we start? A lovely spring afternoon with sun shining and blue sky set the scene. I felt it best not too eat too many chips before the game as were off for a meal in the evening, so gobbled down only a small portion.
It was so nice not to have to pay those exorbitant Wembley prices and also be able to have some salt on my chips which the national stadium could not supply, as I mentioned last week.
Roberto De Zerbi opted to rest up his squad after recent exertions in the FA Cup and at Nottingham Forest, making five changes to the starting XI.
I thought this understandable but many folk were surprised, based on what I heard on arriving at the Amex. So too was Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday.
Clips which aired on social media appeared to imply that Merson thought De Zerbi had rested so many players because Brighton do not want to play in Europe, unless of course the footage had been doctored to make it appear that is what he was saying.
Oh ye of little faith. De Zerbi’s decision making proved impeccable. What excitement, what skill and what football the Albion treated us to even with Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma watching on from the bench.
There are not many teams in the Premier League who could rest three of their most important players and then score six goals. It just goes to show what a special manager we have, with great intuition and judgement.
In any case, subs could have been made if things were not going well for Brighton and Caicedo, Mac Allister and Mitoma brought on.
It became quite clear very quickly, however, that their services would not be needed as a spectacular afternoon kicked into life after only six minutes.
The opening goal began with Julio Enciso driving down the left to find Pervis Estupinan on the overlap. Estupinan crossed to the far post, Solly March retrieved and played back to Joel Veltman.
He hit a ball along the turf for Danny Welbeck, who flicked into the path of Deniz Undav. It was a great piece of play from Welbeck and Undav calmly put the ball past Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
There was a lengthy wait whilst VAR checked to see if Undav was offside. For once, VAR found in the Albion’s favour with Undav clearly on.
It was a relief not to see Brighton undone by an incorrect decision. I always double check the referee before a game now as I dread these poor officials costing Brighton dear.
We are not the only club of course to suffer. Such mistakes by referees and VAR can be huge with so much at stake.
Take Everton, for example. The Toffees are struggling financially, have a new stadium being built which needs paying for and fans who are very unhappy.
We are so very lucky at Brighton to have an owner like Mr Tony Bloom and his trusted team under Mr Paul Barber. Long may it continue as we are beginning to really see the fruits of all their labours.
Wolves too have endured a disappointing season and what was to follow after Undav put Brighton ahead must be their worst result of it.
Historically, a 6-0 win made for Brighton’s biggest ever in the Premier League. The Albion frequently took possession off Wolves in midfield and were ruthless when they did so, cutting through the visitors like a hot knife through butter.
Goal number two came from Brighton winning the ball and Billy Gilmour finding Julio Enciso. Like a bat our of Paraguay, Enciso sped away down the left flank. What speed he has.
Enciso initially appeared to have gone down a bit of a blind alley, with five Wolves players and Sa around him.
He managed to find the space to expertly cross to the waiting Pascal Gross, who used his left foot to beat Sa and double the lead with 13 minutes played.
Welbeck did actually miss a chance which came from a Lewis Dunk long ball. A Wolves defender passed back to Sa, who in turn miscalculated his own pass to gift the ball straight to Welbeck.
Unfortunately, Welbeck lent back as he struck his shot and the ball flew over Sa’s head and the crossbar.
Wolves responded to that let off by calling upon Jason Steele to make a great block from Matheus Nunes. It was the one of the only chances the visitors created all afternoon.
Goal three came for Brighton in the 26th minute and again, Enciso was involved. Gross started the move, feeding the ball left and then continuing his run towards the edge of the D to receive the ball back from Enciso.
The control from Gross was nothing short of outstanding, letting the ball pop up and then volleying into the top corner for a truly stunning finish.
Not even half an hour had been played by this point and already, I was worn out watching. The Amex crowd were understandably in great spirits and that led to a brilliant atmosphere.
We will need to bring the noise levels again on Thursday evening when Manchester United visit with another three precious points on the line.
Another Wolves mistake from Mario Lemina was pounced upon again by Enciso, who nearly punished the error with a fourth before half time.
Brighton did manage to score again prior to the break. Gilmour went left to Enciso, Estupinan overlapped and crossed towards the back post for Welbeck to casually rise and head past Sa.
There was still time for Solly March to have a go with an attempt just over. Brighton ended the half as they had started it; all over Wolves with no quarter given.
When referee David Coote blew his whistle, it was a much-needed rest to stabilise the blood pressure. Wolves meanwhile had the chance to regroup, which Julen Lopetegui used to make a treble change.
This appeared to make no difference as the Albion scored number five three minutes into part two. Welbeck struck again with a shot from outside the area, giving Sa no chance.
Now I may be wrong, but there were many empty seats appearing in the away end as the game went on and the goals rained in. I think the Wolves fans had started their long journey early, not wanting to face any more humiliation.
Still Brighton kept attacking, now wanting six. Estupinan came close to his first Brighton goal, a block meaning he has to wait for another day. But it will surely not be long until he opens his account.
Undav was the player who added the sixth on 66 minutes. Mitoma had only just been introduced when he won possession for the Albion, the ball heading right to Undav.
It was a very tight angle made more difficult by Sa bearing down on Undav. Undav expertly chipped the ball so calmly over the head of Sa.
The ball kissed the bar just slightly, dropping down and over the line. A fantastic finish to earn Undav a well deserved brace and Brighton six goals in the Premier League for the first time.
The excitement was not over yet. Caicedo came on and should have done better with a big chance; nitpicking it might be, but his finishing still needs some work!
Gilmour clipped the right hand post and Estupinan was tackled and knocked off balance just as he was about to shoot. Six goals could easily have been eight, nine or 10.
Instead, we had to settle for only six. What a way to bounce back from the two defeats of the previous seven days, putting the second target for the season of a place in Europe back on the table.
Three consecutive home games offers a huge opportunity to move closer to that aim. Three points from Wolves can be followed up with more against United and Everton, especially with the noise and passion Brighton fans provided in the Wolves and Forest games and at Wembley.
Such an exciting time to be an Albion supporter. I wonder what will happen next?
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
