Brighton & Hove Albion have made a stunning start to the season. The Seagulls are soaring.
A 5-0 win over rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday really highlighted the gap in quality between the two teams. The match as a contest was over after 10 minutes as a Jaydee Canvot own goal, a 50-yard wonderstrike from Diego Gomez and a Yasin Ayari hit ended any hopes of an Eagles upset.
It’s now four league victories on the spin for the south coast side. They’re keeping on the coattails of table toppers Manchester City and Arsenal having beaten the latter prior to the international break. After a brief rocky spell under Fabian Hurzeler last season, Brighton are truly thriving under the watchful eye of the German.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Hurzeler has previously spoken of his admiration for compatriot Jurgen Klopp. “For me, Jurgen is the best coach when it comes to creating an identity for a club and all employees,” the Brighton boss once said. It shouldn’t come as a shock, then, that Hurzeler adopts a high-intensity high press to force opposition turnovers in dangerous positions.
Aggressive press catches opponents out
The former St. Pauli boss favours a 4-2-3-1 setup. It’s not too dissimilar to Klopp’s preferred 4-3-3. In addition, Hurzeler demands his players really pressure opponents high up the pitch. It shouldn’t come as a shock that they rank top for possession won in the final third (51) in the Premier League this season.
It allows them to swarm and overwhelm defences, springing forward quickly to punish opponents. Unsurprisingly, Brighton rank third for shots following a counter attack (11) and joint-top for counter-attacking goals (3) in England’s top tier this term. It’s some going for a team that boasts the third highest possession average (59.9%) in the division.
What this means, though, is that Brighton are able to implement a variety of styles of play in order to hurt teams. They can soak up pressure before quickly bounding forward, or dominate proceedings depending on the scenario both before and during a match. It helps, too, that Hurzeler has a plethora of young players willing to carry out the hard work off the ball.
23-year-old Gomez ranks top for tackles per 90 (2.8) of all Brighton players. Malick Yalcouye (2.3) is second for this metric. Chema Andres (2.2) rounds off the top three of those to have registered at least 200 minutes of action. The latter pair are 20 and 21 years of age, respectively.
The importance of Pascal Gross
That’s not to say the likes of Gomez, Yalcouye and Andres as there to merely cover ground across the pitch. Having the trio willing to put in the hard yards, however, certainly aids Hurzeler.
And that is largely because it frees up midfield lynchpin Pascal Gross to fully maximise his creative qualities. At 35 years of age, Gross is better served being in possession to help turn defence into attack. Only compatriot Florian Wirtz (20) has created more chances than the Seagulls star (19) in the Premier League this season. No player has registered more assists (4).
The range of passing is absolutely vital, especially when Brighton are in the ascendency. It’s the willingness to shift possession to the flanks that is of particular importance. Hurzeler wants his full-backs to push on and help stretch opponents. As the position map below shows, the left and right-back are essentially stationed on the halfway line, with the anchor sitting to provide attacking freedom.
This high-octane style of play combined with the desire to commit men forward down the flanks has enabled Brighton to make this strong start to the season. Naturally it doesn’t come without risk. By pushing men upfield, Brighton are in danger of being caught short at the back, especially if a team can beat the first press.
Will the high-octane approach catch up with Brighton?
Granted, it’s not hurt Brighton this season. No team has conceded fewer goals than Hurzeler’s men (5) in the 2026/27 Premier League campaign. However, with the games coming thick and fast, in time the all-action approach could come back to hurt the UEFA Conference League hopefuls.
Hurzeler may have a number of young stars willing to leave their mark, but they are an injury to a key player short of being robbed of a vital attacking component. This is part of the reason may Brighton may not be able to live up to early season expectations. We saw it last season as the fixtures piled up that Brighton struggled. Now they have European football to contend with, the pile-up in games will be expected to impact their form.
Combined with a lack of experience, it’s potential obstacle that’ll eventually catch up with them.
For the time being, however, fans won’t mind. They’ve started the season superbly and deserve to be where they are in the Premier League. That’s the benefit that comes with the players fully buying into Hurzeler’s gameplan.