Brighton and Hove Albion consolidated third place in the Premier League table with their third straight win on Saturday.
The Seagulls, now the division’s leading side for both goals scored (18) and clean sheets (four), saw off Sunderland 2-0.
Here are our Scout Notes from Wearside.
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GROSS + DE CUYPER AT IT AGAIN IN A DIFFERENT TYPE OF BRIGHTON WIN
It won’t live as long in the memory as the victory over Arsenal but Brighton’s win over Sunderland was impressive in other aspects.
This time, it was the nitty-gritty and the basics. The Stadium of Light is not an easy place to come; just ask the Gunners after their near-escape in Gameweek 4.
But Brighton coped admirably with the physical side of the Black Cats’ game and, even in a match of few first-half chances, carved out the two best: Diego Gomez‘s (£5.0m) failed one-on-one attempt and a Pascal Struijk (£4.9m) header that looped onto the post.
Then, moments of second-half quality when it mattered. Two nicely threaded passes, from that man Pascal Gross (£6.0m) and substitute Georginio Rutter (£5.3m), set up the advancing Maxim De Cuyper (£5.0m) and replacement left-back Jaouen Hadjam (£4.5m) to finish.
Job done, with the minimum of fuss – but not a shortage of effort. What was most impressive about Brighton’s win was the rearguard effort after Struijk’s contentious 57th-minute dismissal. Sunderland totally failed to break down the Seagulls, having only one shot in the box – and it was only just in the area – in the subsequent 30+ minutes.
“What pleased me most today was that we’re capable of playing this game. It was not the nicest football game in the first half, but we coped with the intensity from Sunderland. We were really brilliant at the basics, and then you are able to compete with these kinds of teams.” – Fabian Hurzeler, via the Argus
De Cuyper and Gross now, fittingly, sit joint-top of the FPL standings:
There’ll be games in which the in-form duo enjoy more attacking freedom (next weekend, for example) but they still came up with the goods. Gross could have had other attacking returns here, too, setting up a good Luka Vuskovic (£5.0m) chance from a set piece, miskicking a decent opportunity of his own and attempting to chip Robin Roefs (£4.9m) from 60+ yards when the Sunderland goalkeeper had ventured out of his area!
MORE DEFCONS FOR VUSKOVIC
Albion playing with 10 men helped Vuskovic achieve DefCon points for the third time in four Gameweeks. He was only one contribution away in the Coventry game, a match in which he departed after 77 minutes, which would have made it a clean sweep.
When Kaoru Mitoma (£5.9m) is eventually back to threaten De Cuyper’s minutes in the weeks/months ahead, the pivot to Vuskovic looks an easy one.
Gomez hit the threshold for the second successive week, while Ferdi Kadıoğlu (£4.4m) – who made a superb first-half block – even got in on the action. Gross wasn’t too far away, either.
No surprise that Nordi Mukiele (£5.4m) hit the mark. He’s a DefCon magnet at centre-half, rather than at full-back where he has been stationed in recent weeks, and a move back to the heart of Sunderland’s defence here helped him to 10 contributions.
LET THE CONGESTION COMMENCE
Brighton played European fixtures on either side of Gameweek 1 but haven’t been on the continent since, with the UEFA Conference League taking a backseat.
It returns this week, however, kickstarting a busy period:
Still, this is no Champions League. A favourable Conference League draw could hand Fabian Hurzeler opportunities to rest some regulars against the minnows of Žalgiris and Jablonec – particularly as an A23 derby and the visit of Liverpool follow those two ties.
“It’s just the beginning of the season, so all good with me.” – Maxim De Cuyper on the packed schedule
MACKEMS MISFIRE WITHOUT BROBBEY
From the basketball match at the Etihad, in which Sunderland carved out a whopping 3.57 expected goals, to this forgettable fare, in which they limped to 0.72 xG.
Was the absence of Brian Brobbey (£5.7m) the main issue? It’s a simplistic reading, maybe, and Regis Le Bris said it was “not the only reason” Sunderland lost, but it’s difficult to contest the argument that the Black Cats didn’t sorely miss his physical presence. Brobbey has won 66.7% of his aerial battles this season (a superb figure for a striker); replacement Wilson Isidor (£5.5m) is down at 12.5%.
Isidor nipped in front of his marker to send an early shot against the outside of the post but that was pretty much it for his involvement.
The good news for Sunderland is that Brobbey should be back bothering defences again very soon. With him, their chances of turning in another anaemic display like Saturday’s should reduce.
The Mackems lost Thomas Meunier (£4.5m) to a hamstring injury in the first half. He’ll be assessed in the coming days.
Le Bris’ side resume their own European competition this week, and have a similarly busy autumn and winter ahead:
