Seagulls go flying high
THE last of the summer wine has been uncorked, but the Seagulls are still soaring as Leandro Trossard made the Bees finally look drowsy.
Brighton are up to fourth as they proved it is how rather than how many when it comes to the league.
Graham Potter’s side have only scored five in their four games – in contrast to the two Manchester clubs above them who have 11 apiece – but their resilience and ability to make a little go a long way was apparent.
Trossard’s winner came in the
90th minute when the Belgian striker neatly shimmied across two defenders and curled a shot from the edge of the box inside the far post.
By that stage, Brentford had run out of steam, their buzzing energy sapped by a succession of missed chances, four of them spurned by the wasteful Bryan Mbeumo.
The victory means Brighton have won three of their opening four games. It took them 19 matches to get to that tally last season.
But in the battle of the New Age modernists – analytics and computer scouting – Potter was made up by an old-school late sucker-punch.
“Sometimes people want answers to things, but often the challenge is just to maintain performance levels,” said Potter (right). “It was a tight game. Brentford were better than us in the first half, but we shaded the second.
“But it’s not like we’re reinventing the wheel. We keep working hard, keep trying to improve, and in the end we won it with Leo’s moment of brilliance.
“It’s not easy to win three out of four in the Premier League, so I am very pleased.”
Brentford dominated the first hour, but their first defeat of the season – and first in the new stadium – was possible after Mbeumo’s misses.
But manager Thomas Frank will impose his 24-hour rule, shaking off his disappointment by tomorrow and reflecting on a start to life in the top tier that still leaves them mid-table.
“I have a 24-hour rule, where I can’t celebrate or be too disappointed for more than 24 hours,” said Frank. “Brighton are four years ahead of us in terms of development and if you look at their players, they are on a lot more money than ours.
“It was an even game, but for the first 75 minutes we were slightly better than them, but did not take our chances.
“Bryan missed some, but the positive was the way he linked up with Ivan Toney. He will be one of our best players this season and I’m sure his first league goal is just around the corner.”
Brentford’s breezily confident start to the season gave them wings and though they conceded the majority of possession, the best first-half chances were theirs.
On another day, Mbeumo might have had a hat-trick before the interval, but he managed to miss three very plausible openings – two of them set up by the patient Toney.
Midway through the half, when Toney chased down a long punt on the left flank and then cleverly cut the ball back, Mbeumo skied over. No more than 30 seconds later, his miss was more extreme – a sand wedge when he only needed a seven iron.
He did all the hard work for his third chance, turning sharply inside a defender, but this time his chip went beyond the far post.
Either side of the phantom hat-trick, Brighton were spooked by Toney and Vitaly Janelt, who both had chances to put their side ahead.
Brighton were not without an attacking threat themselves, though their build-up was slower.
Their best effort came in the 14th minute when Danny Welbeck was denied by a David Raya save after a sweet pass from Trossard.
It was the Belgium international who then made the most of Brighton’s late superiority – taking a pass from influential substitute
Alexis Mcallister and beating Raya to leave Brentford with lessons to learn.