Hughton’s Bright’ side showing their class!

BRIGHTON and Hove Albion are a top-half team. Not a sentence you thought you would read almost a third of the way through the season, but Chris Hughton’s brilliant side are in the Premier League’s top 10 — and believe it is where they belong. Four games without defeat, two away wins in a row, some disciplined defending and a renewed confidence have the Seagulls flying. ‘We’re there because we have the quality to be there,’ winger Anthony Knockaert told Sportsmail. ‘If we keep going maybe the other teams will give us more respect. Maybe they didn’t give us that in the first few games.’ This win marked their first back-toback top-flight away victories since 1981. Glenn Murray’s 29th-minute winner was fortuitous, coming off his thigh from Knockaert’s cross, but welldeserved in a display that combined quality with an ability to scrap.

SWANSEA CITY (4-1-4-1): Fabianski 6; Naughton 6, Fernandez 5.5, Mawson 6.5, Clucas 5 (Routledge 79min, 5); Ki 5.5; Dyer 6, Fer 6, Carroll 5.5 (Narsingh 59, 6), Ayew 5.5 (McBurnie 79, 5); Abraham 6. Subs not used: Van der Hoorn, Nordfeldt, Roque, Fulton. Booked: Fernandez 29, Clucas 65.

Manager: Paul Clement 6. BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (4-4-1-1): Ryan 6.5; Bruno 6, Duffy 7, Dunk 6.5, Bong 6.5;

KNOCKAERT 7.5, Stephens 6.5, Propper 6.5, Izquierdo 6 (March 66, 5); Gross 6.5 (Brown 85); Murray 7 (Hemed 78, 5). Subs not

used: Goldson, Schelotto, Krul, Suttner. Scorer: Murray 29. Booked: Dunk.

Manager: Chris Hughton 7.5. Referee: Mike Dean 7. Attendance: 20,822.