Albion beat Liverpool. Yes, put bluntly… who saw that coming?!
Fabian Hürzeler’s side marched on in their impressive run, extending the run to four wins in five games. The Seagulls are truly back in form!
Well, just over three weeks ago, we could never have seen a moment like this coming. Appearing down and out, with a large portion of the Amex crowd chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” at the head coach.
Unlike other platforms, this channel is written by fans as well. So let’s analyse this from both sides of the fence…
Thomas Tuchel, are you listening?
Danny Welbeck is the man of the moment. A brace and an all-round impressive game to match it. His eleventh and twelfth Premier League goals of the season ticked off, and deservedly so. The 35-year-old has now scored 50 goals in Brighton colours, but there is still so much more to him than that…
As we all know, Welbeck is magnificent off the pitch. A role model for the younger players, and one of the senior leaders in the camp who Hürzeler has seemingly looked over to stop the rot. Both him and James Milner have been standouts in recent weeks, accompanied by Jason Steele’s England call up, as well as Pascal Groß’s and Lewis Dunk’s good form in the league (minus that goal, don’t worry Lewis).
Welbeck is definitive proof that you should never give up on players. When you take a look back on his Brighton career, from the stoppage on his injuries, to emphasising his good personality, to turning him into a trusted Premier League goalscorer, it is nothing short of a rebirthing story. Danny Malbec. Danny Reborn. The finest of wines, and he shows no signs of slowing down any time soon! One of the greatest free transfers in the division’s history.
How did Brighton turn their fortunes?
Brighton set up with a familiar, unchanged side, for only the third time in Hürzeler’s reign. Of course, this is your more ‘standard’ and experienced players. The Premier League’s style of play has shifted massively this season.
There is less focus on playing football with multiple passes and more on duals. Brighton are good with that, and one part of Hürzeler’s football that sticks out more than anything else is that emphasis on running and intensity. In fact, Albion ran 5km more than Liverpool players yesterday, talk about being run around!
Liverpool couldn’t keep up in the second half, and the style of play remained fairly consistent. Liverpool were defensively woeful, and at times I was wondering if we’d signed Ibrahima Konate on a one-game loan!
Yankuba Minteh, for me, was the star of the show. Welbeck took the headlines, but our Gambian wizard was in the form of his life. The battle with Jeremie Frimpong came away as a focal talking point, as Minteh ran riot.
Frimpong couldn’t keep up, and no matter who Liverpool tried to change, Minteh was electric. It isn’t just his dribbling, either. Minteh shines when he is running his socks off. One of the hardest workers in the squad, and contributes equally defensively as he does going forward. As far as modern-day wingers go, the £30 million man is the perfect blend of new and old.
His performance opened up a great deal of space up front. Liverpool’s defensive line was a mess from the start, and they didn’t know how to settle. A nice blend of pace, physicality in Welbeck and technical ability in Gomez and Gross, and the combinations worked very well.
The senior players have appeared to steady the ship. Albion are playing with a more standard approach, without causing too many issues both defensively and offensively. Before, it seemed as though many of the younger players were struggling to play “Hürzeler ball”. Whether this is something to look into as the summer comes around, time will tell.
How long will it last? Is Hürzeler the right man?
Ultimately, Brighton are known for being the club that wants to promote (and sell) young talent. The likes of Carlos Baleba, Yasin Ayari, and Georginio Rutter have all been taken out of the team in recent weeks. For now, that is working perfectly fine.
Our biggest issues under Hurzeler have been consistency. Previously, good runs of form have dramatically collapsed and ended in longer-term problems. Keeping runs of form alongside good performances going beyond the satisfying wins… that is the next step.
It must be said, this was one of the most impressive second halves of football I’ve seen under the German head coach, and the most entertaining Brighton game has been since his predecessor left the club back in 2024. The lack of consistency has always created the divide amongst the fanbase, and I would argue that people were within their rights to criticise at the time. I am not someone who personally agrees with booing their own team, though, and still never would!
Fans pay good money to watch football, and when fans are aware of the talent available and the opportunities in the Premier League, there is always a sense that European football is what this squad is capable of achieving this season.
Players like Milner, Jan Paul Van Hecke and Groß perhaps enable that consistency in performances, and the rest of the season remains to be seen. We have a three-week break now, and that could well have come at the wrong time!
For the first time in a long time, there are no longer the same old patterns. No similar issues, just something refreshing. Wow, isn’t it nice to be positive?
Overall, hats off to Fabian, an impressive victory and equally for coming through adversity in the way he has done. Seeing him mix with the fans at full-time was very satisfying, and hopefully, more of the same as we kick off again.
