I know we’re only at the beginning of November and that we’re in the 10th Premier League round. But things are already clear and at the same time surprising. Manchester City have fallen away with three straight defeats and overtaken by Brighton in second behind Arsenal who have four wins in their last five games.
An increasingly pertinent question is: What exactly is stopping Brighton from doing something extraordinary this season? The answer begins and ends with Arsenal – and even then only for the time being.
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That an answer to that question is needed at all is proof of how good they are. Brighton even had the “foresight” to end up in the Conference League this season, so even the Thursday-Sunday schedule won’t hurt them, given how easily they should be able to steer their way into the final stages. And to be honest, it would now be both a big shock and a big disappointment if they don’t follow West Ham, Chelsea and Crystal Palace in winning trophies.
Also today, Sunday, there was a 2 – 0 win against visiting Brentford.
Almost total absence of weaknesses
The key lies not in Brighton’s strengths – which are numerous, obvious and captivating – but in the almost total absence of weaknesses. No wonder Manchester United really want manager Fabian Hürzeler as Michael Carrick replaces.
That’s what’s so rare for this type of upstart. There’s usually something about a team trying to defy the odds in this way that makes you stop. Do they have enough goal threat? And if they do, are they too reliant on one particular superstar who will soon be abducted? Are they good enough at the back? What about the goalkeeper – is he a bit unstable? And while a team trying to turn “Doing a Leicester” into “Doing a Brighton” has the answer to all of this, you’ll usually at least have a reservation about midfield.
But look for the fault here. Look for what can cause second-place Brighton to ‘go back to the mean’ and fall away – and that’s just… nothing. This really does look like it’s actually the average. There’s nothing to go back to. There should be no drop away.
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That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but there’s absolutely nothing about their current position that feels uneven, unsustainable, or unfounded.
The second best team in the country
This is a very hot assessment, so get ready for it: Brighton are second in the league because, based on what we’ve seen so far, they’re simply the second-best team in the country.
It’s a great honour to everyone involved. Brighton are reaping rewards for stability in a season where there is so little of it. Not without reason, the top two in the table are two of only three clubs currently in their third straight Premier League season with the same manager.
The Oliver Show at the Amex
Even with how well everything has gone for Brighton this season, and especially at home, they could hardly have expected such an afternoon against another member of the “Bermuda Triangle B teams” – who are still enjoying their own good start to the season despite this setback.
Despite Brighton’s prowess here, this was a victory that was largely due to two important decisions. “Michael Oliver, it’s all about you,” was the verdict of Brentford fans at half-time. And it’s easy to get some sympathy.
Neither the red card for Igor Thiago nor the penalty when Keane Lewis-Potter had his hands on Luka Vuskovic’s shirt were wrong, but both were certainly no more clear than the “Seen Them Given” area.
The description of Thiago’s frustrated and foolish waving arm hitting Chema Andrés in the neck like a “forearm smash” on the commentator was far too exaggerated. He took a chance and paid a high price, but Chema had a big chunk of his shirt and tried to make amends with him. He deservedly received a yellow card and was sent off for half-time due to his shaken condition – which obviously left room to equalise the players.
Not wrong, but also not undoubtedly correct. The penalty clearly falls under the category of “Okay, fine, but if there is a penalty, we get 10 penalties per game”. Which, for the record, we could certainly support. Bring the chaos.
Brighton took full advantage of it
What Brighton did with what might be called big-club decisions is what good teams do: take full advantage of it.
Pascal Gross’ finish of the penalty in the top corner was, like Brighton themselves, just ridiculous and unnecessarily good. And even when it was 11 to 11, Brighton had already deservedly taken the lead thanks to the last piece of absurd highlight behaviour from the top flight’s modern Barclays player Diego Gómez.
The fact that Brentford didn’t suffer further injuries after half-time says a lot about their own qualities this season. We all know how disciplined, organised and committed they are, and they showed all these qualities to avoid giving up, as so many others would have done in the face of what a team as good as Brighton threw at their ten men in the last 70 minutes of this game.
Today was all about Brighton. As if it wasn’t enough to deservedly finish second in the Premier League, they also saw Crystal Palace drop to the bottom of the table.
These are astonishing and unprecedented times on the south coast.
