The Numbers That Back up Brighton’s Dominance
It was just a decade ago that Brighton & Hove Albion were plying their trade in the second tier of English football. Since then, they’ve ended a 34-year top-flight drought, they’ve qualified for European football for the first time ever, and they’ve caught the eye of fans and neutrals alike with a fearless, attack-minded style of play perpetrated by the likes of Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi.
However, under Fabian Hürzeler, there’s reason to believe that Brighton might just be playing the best football in its 123-year history. After leading St. Pauli to the Bundesliga, the 32-year-old left his native Germany and replaced De Zerbi at the Amex, becoming the youngest permanent manager in the history of the Premier League. It hasn’t taken long for him to silence the doubters and prove why he is more than capable of leading Brighton into the next frontier.
With 22 points from their first 12 matches, Brighton have made the best-ever start to a top-flight campaign, three points better off than ever before at this stage of a season. The Seagulls currently sit fifth in the table, level on points with Arsenal and Chelsea and one behind second-placed Manchester City. And whilst we’re only one-third of the way into the season, there’s reason to believe that they have what it takes to sustain their stellar form.
According to Opta Analyst, In the Premier League this season, only Ipswich players have covered more ground than Brighton’s, who are averaging 111.9 km per match. What’s more, Brighton players are ranking fifth in terms of sprints per game (152.2) well above last season’s average of 123.1 which saw them rank as the third-worst in the Premier League. They also have had the hardest start to the season of any Premier League team with an opponent average rating of 89.6, per Opta, and yet, they’ve only lost at Anfield and Stamford Bridge thus far.
Whilst Brighton have had to deal with a plethora of injuries to key players like Lewis Dunk, Solly March and Yankuba Minteh, that hasn’t stopped them from taking their game to a new level under their new wunderkind manager. Even after losing their versatile midfield talisman in Pascal Groß to Borussia Dortmund, they have not missed a step and look to make a serious push for European football this season.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen Newcastle and Aston Villa break into the top four and end a lengthy UEFA Champions League drought. And whilst it’s still early days, there’s reason to believe that Brighton can make a genuine push and challenge for a first-ever qualification to Europe’s premier competition. As long as Hürzeler is at the helm, expect Brighton to continue staking their claim as one of the top sides in the Premier League.
By: Zach Lowy / @ZachLowy
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / David Horton – CameraSport