Brighton 2-0 Brentford; Seagulls soar into second place after beating Brentford
The high-flying Seagulls continue their excellent start to the season, as the Bees lose their sting in a difficult afternoon for the visitors.
Brighton went into half-time 2-0 ahead with Brentford reduced to ten men after Igor Thiago was sent off. Man of the match, Diego Gomez, hit a fantastic long-range thunderbolt to give Brighton the lead, and a Pascal Gros penalty doubled Brighton’s lead.
After victory against Brentford, Brighton now sit 2nd in the Premier League on 22 points, sandwiched between title-challengers Arsenal and Manchester City - having already beaten both sides.
Without a doubt, Brighton have been one of, if not the standout Premier League team so far this season playing exciting, front-foot football that fans yearn for.
Brighton finished eighth last season, earning themselves a place in the UEFA Conference League, yet on their current form they must be looking towards playing in a more prestigious European competition next season like the Champions League.
Just how far can Brighton go this season?
Keith Andrews’ Brentford have largely performed well this season, yet a trip to the south coast proved not to be a happy day for his side.
The turning point was certainly Igor Thiago’s sending off midway through the first half for violent conduct.
Initially, Thiago and Chema Andres were both shown yellows for their altercation, but this was upgraded to a red card after a VAR review.
Afterwards the result seemed a foregone conclusion in Brighton’s favour. Losing Thiago was highly damaging as they lost their main centre forward and didn’t manage to have a shot on target the entire game.
The visitors struggled to recover as Brighton dictated the game.
Brighton were then able to slow the game down with an extra player and two goal advantage.
They controlled the game with over 70% possession, forcing Brentford to defend deep without the threat of any counter attacks, or need to exert too much energy as they relaxed a little bit and didn’t threaten Kelleher’s goal as much in the second half.
Brighton recorded their 7th win and 7th clean sheet this season, and it will take a very good team to stop them this season.
Whilst there is still a long season ahead, Fabian Hurzeler is building a convincing Brighton team able to bring control as well as creativity that will surely be in European contention again.
Brighton now have a favourable fixture list around the Christmas period and will hope to cement their place among the Premier League’s elite.
As for Brentford, who finished just one place below Brighton last season in 9th place and missed out on a European place, the aim will be to break into these European places and will look to get back to winning ways after the international break against Everton and Manchester United.
However, they will be without talismanic Brazilian striker Thiago for three games, which will undoubtedly be a huge miss for Keith Andrews.
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