Brighton and Hove Albion beat Getafe 1-0 to go back to winning ways in the Europa League.
It was yet another tough match for the Seagulls, who had previously failed to break down Czech side Jablonec. They once again dominated possession and played a patient game, but this time managed to score.
A Malick Yalcouye header, of all things, did the trick for Brighton who have now won back-to-back matches by minimum margin (also against Manchester City in the Premier League).
Despite the dominant and deserved win, while also not allowing basically any danger to Bart Verbruggen, it was by no means an easy game. Which is also nothing to be ashamed, with Jose Bordalas’ side being famous for giving opponents a tough time.
Why did Brighton struggle against Getafe and what did they do to break them down?
Predictability in build-up
Fabian Hurzeler set Brighton up to play with basically two groups of players in possession. The idea was to have around 4-5 at the back to pass the ball around and bait the press to then have space to run into up front. There, another 4-5 men looking to run.
They looked to build up in a 3+1 shape with Yasin Ayari often being the pivot in midfield. However, whether they were pressing high or sitting deep, the Azulones managed to take him out of this first phase. Either Ivan Azon, the striker, sat back from the centre-backs and stayed attached to him, or central midfielder Orel Mangala man-marked him.
This meant that the Brighton defenders were responsible for taking the team upfield, which didn’t happen as fluidly as it could with the touches from more technically gifted passers like Ayari.
The Swede ended up sixth in touches for the Seagulls despite playing the full 90 minutes – one fewer than Lewis Dunk who was subbed at half time.
He did lead all players on the pitch in chances created. Though all three were basically lay-offs for inaccurate long shots: Georginio Rutter and Costinha in the first half, Luka Vuskovic in the second.
Brighton also concentraded most of their attacking actions down the left flank, leaving Yalcouye often uninvolved. The Ivorian did have space at times on the opposite wing, but teammates rarely switched play to look for him. He could have made the game less predictable there – like Rutter tried to do on the left.
Ironically, it was him who won them the game, but more on that later.
The Seagulls also came back from the break more aggressive, leaving only the two centre-backs behind, in a 2-3-5 of sorts. But that didn’t change much.
Turnovers and fast breaks
With build-up issues, recovering possession and immediately hitting Getafe on the counter would become a great route for Brighton.
Their first dangerous attacking sequence happened just like this, but Rutter couldn’t get on the end of a Ayari cross.
And it’s how they also got their best goalscoring opportunities in the first half. Rutter sent Jaouen Hadjam through on goal, but the Algerian hit the post one-on-one with David Soria. On the rebound, Sebastian Boselli cleared a Yalcouye follow-up off the line.
Fast breaks were what made Brighton go from dull to dangerous, avoiding the low build-ups that had little effect.
Crosses for the win
But what ended up winning them the game is a highly common weapon that teams love to spam when having a hard time breaking down low blocks: crosses. And the Seagulls actually underused it throughout the game.
Pascal Gross looked for Costinha stretching the pitch out wide, taking advantage of Getafe’s four-man defence that stopped at Yalcouye, before left-winger Andres Garcia could regroup and turn it into a back-five.
The Portuguese full-back headed it back towards the box, in the near post, where Yalcouye was charging forward to nod it home.
And they had already tried a nearly identical play in the 28th minute. That time, however, the long Gross cross towards the far post found Jack Hinshelwood, who couldn’t even get the shot off. But it was something clearly designed rather than randomly whipping balls into the box just for the sake of it.
Crossing could have also gotten the Seagulls a second goal, but Ibrahim Osman missed an absolute sitter while trying to complete a Diego Gomez cross from the right-hand side.
