This Saturday marked Albion’s first trip to the Stadium of Light since October 2004… almost 22 years!
Sunderland entered the game in shaky form, having lost their last three home league matches and coming off an upset defeat to Port Vale in the Cup last weekend.
A Tight, Open First Half
The first half was an evenly contested affair, and by current Premier League standards, it was surprisingly free-flowing. Jack Hinshelwood had Brighton’s best chance of the half, getting on the end of a whipped Yankuba Minteh cross, but he failed to convert past Melker Elborg in goal.
Sunderland also came close to breaking the deadlock. Chemsdine Talbi’s strike beat Bart Verbruggen but couldn’t get past Lewis Dunk, as the Brighton skipper produced a superb goal-line block.
Overall, the opening 45 minutes hinted at a possible repeat of the tight 0-0 draw between the sides at the Amex back in December.
VAR Drama Sparks the Second Half
The second half, however, saw the game spring into life. Sunderland appeared to take the lead early on with a clever set-piece routine – helped by a scrappy and disorganised Brighton defence – that allowed Chris Rigg to drill the ball into the net.
It looked a certain lead for the hosts before VAR intervened, correctly ruling the goal out for a marginal offside.
For Brighton, it was a rare and welcome positive VAR call for the defence this season – and a huge relief too, given how the back line had gotten in each other’s way in the buildup. In many ways, it was another example of Brighton momentarily switching off defensively, an issue that has cropped up repeatedly this season.
With the clean sheet restored, Brighton gradually rediscovered their rhythm. An attacking corner eventually found its way back to Minteh on the edge of the area. The Gambian winger beat Granit Xhaka and squeezed an effort through Sunderland’s near post, catching Elborg by surprise.
There was a brief moment of controversy in the buildup for the goal, with Habib Diarra left on the ground appealing for a foul as Albion players ran off to celebrate. Both the referee and VAR dismissed the protests, judging the contact between Diarra and Dunk to be minimal.
With half an hour remaining, Brighton seemed content to sit back and defend their advantage. Their only real chance to extend the lead came when Diego Gomez fired over the bar.
Fabian Hurzeler was once again slow to turn to his bench. Maxim De Cuyper entered in the 76th minute, while Yasin Ayari, Joel Veltman, and Matt O’Riley were introduced only after the 88-minute mark.
Despite the late substitutions, Albion saw the game out comfortably to secure an important three points.
Finally, Some Winning Form!
This afternoon marked Brighton’s third win from their last four Premier League matches, with Hurzeler once again relying on the experienced core that delivered victories against Brentford and Nottingham Forest.
The only major change saw Yankuba Minteh replace the injured Kaoru Mitoma, with the Gambian winger earning his first start of 2026.
A special mention should go to Brighton’s midfield trio of Pascal Groß, James Milner, and Jack Hinshelwood. None could be described as the flashiest player in Albion’s squad, but together they have delivered consistently solid and intelligent performances since establishing a regular run of games.
Carlos Baleba and Charalampos Kostoulas were notably absent from the squad, which raised a few eyebrows.
However, with the team collecting points and building momentum, there is little reason to question Fabian Hurzeler’s methods, for now.
