If there is one surprise at the start of the Premier League, it is Brighton. Before going to Liverpool on Sunday (3 p.m.) for the 8th day of the championship, Fabien Hürzeler’s men occupy 3rd place, 5 lengths from Manchester City and 2 from Arsenal, whom they also beat 3-0 in mid-September (the only defeat of the season for the Gunners so far). Weekend after weekend, they impress after scoring 5 at Crystal Palace last Sunday, including 3 in the first 10 minutes. “They are the revelation of the season. I love the way they play, says Jamie Carragher. They remind me a bit of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool team: very aggressive, very fast, very direct.»
The Seagulls are thrilling everyone in England. The statistics are also there to talk about it. They have the best attack (23 goals ahead of City, 19) and the best defense (5 goals conceded, tied with Arsenal). Proof of the incredible confidence that dominates this locker room at the moment, Diego Gómez’s goal scored from half the field against the Eagles. “When I received the ball, I saw that the goalkeeper was slightly forwardrewound the hero of the day. After scoring, I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I was just super happy. It’s a question of fraternity and intensity. We continue to work like this in training and in matches.»
Best attack and best defense
The Paraguayan winger has become one of the strong elements in the eyes of his coach. He is not the only one like the Croatian central defender Luka Vuskovic (19 years old), recruited €54 million from Tottenham this summer and the most used outfield player behind the essential Pascal Gross, elected player of the month for September. Olivier Boscagli is also doing well after a difficult first season as a replacement central defender. This time, the former Nice player, courted by OM in the summer of 2025, found his place in the collective as a left back. He even received a pre-summoning from Zinedine Zidane before the Blues rally. Swedish international Yasin Ayari is gaining momentum and recruit Maxim De Cuyper (€20 million from Club Bruges) is doing a lot of damage on his left side.
However, there were still significant departures this summer. Jan Paul van Hecke signed for Tottenham for €60m, while Manchester United paid €82m to sign Carlos Baleba. Brighton has resources. Hürzeler (only 33 years old) too, who is already in his 4th season on the banks of the Channel. His 4-2-3-1 works wonderfully, to the point of being courted by the Red Devils to replace Michael Carrick. “I don’t have time to think about these rumors because we play every three days», replies the person concerned at a press conference. Because in addition to the championship, Brighton is also competing in the Europa Conference League after finishing 8th in the Premier League last year (also 8th the previous season). It was already a performance in itself.
Two meetings against Liverpool and Manchester City
After two days of a competition in which it is one of the favorites, the English club occupies 9th place, after returning a sad draw (0-0) on the Jablonec lawn on Thursday. “We need to understand what it means to play in this cup. We have to understand that we have to be great at the fundamentals and we weren’t good at the fundamentals today», he warned from the Czech Republic. Eternally dissatisfied, the German is not the type to allow the slightest misstep to his troops. “I always stress that I always have this feeling, when I go to bed, that our journey is not over and that I am not 100% satisfied.“, he explained before the clash at Anfield.
“I always say that I am part of an adventure. We can still progress, we have a lot of potential to exploit, and that’s why I really want to work on this with my staff and my players.continued the technician, aware of his luck. I have excellent professionals around me. I have a great group of players who support me, who give everything for this club and who we have built together over the last few years. We’ve had tough times, we’ve had good times, but I think to build those kinds of relationships, it takes time, it takes connections, and you can’t take those things for granted.» After Liverpool, the Seagulls will travel to Manchester City, first in the League Cup on Wednesday and especially in the Premier League the following Saturday. The opportunity to see what they can really aim for this season.
