Have Brighton got enough to avoid a nervy end to the season? Brighton half-season review

It has been a very poor season so far for Brighton and Hove Albion in their fourth season in the Premier League as they lie in 16th place on 17 points at the halfway mark of the season, although Fulham and Burnley below both have two games in hand.

Graham Potter’s side have really struggled at the Amex this season, failing to win a single home match with five draws secured to this point and have now won just once at home since 2019.

They did, however, secure a crucial win in their most recent fixture, 1-0 against Leeds United at Elland Road.

Five key games

Newcastle 0-3 Brighton

Potter’s side lost 3-1 on the opening day against Chelsea but responded brilliantly in their next game, sweeping Newcastle aside with a comfortable 3-0 victory at St James’ Park.

Neal Maupay struck twice inside the first seven minutes to set the Seagulls on their way to a massive three points before Aaron Connolly added a third with seven minutes remaining to secure the club’s first win of the season.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the south coast club though with combative midfielder Yves Bissouma being shown a straight red card in the last minute of normal time after catching the Magpie’s left-back Jamal Lewis in the face to put a slight damper on the strong performance.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton

It would be wrong to select five key Brighton games in a season without mentioning the derby against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Everything looked to be going wrong when Wilfred Zaha gave the Eagles the lead on 19 minutes from the penalty spot in what proved to be Roy Hodgson’s side’s only shot on target in the game.

Despite this, Brighton responded brilliantly and thoroughly deserved a point which they earned in the 90th minute thanks to Alexis Mac Allister who was laid off by Connolly to ensure the points were shared in South London.

However, it wasn’t all positive for Brighton as captain Lewis Dunk was shown his marching orders late on after catching Gary Cahill with studs as the away side pushed for a winner.

To underline just how dominant Potters’ side were, they had 20 attempts on goal to Palace’s one and 66% of the ball despite being the away side.

Aston Villa 1-2 Brighton

Following the November international break, Brighton secured a vital three points thanks to a brilliant 2-1 win at in-form Aston Villa.

Danny Welbeck put the visitors in front before Ezri Konsa responded with a sliding effort from close range, before midfielder Solly March’s curling strike sent the Seagulls on their way to just their second league win of the season.

Young defender Tariq Lamptey was dismissed for two yellow cards in quick succession to give Potter and his side a nervy final few minutes at Villa Park,

VAR also had it’s say in the final minute of added time with March penalised for bringing down Trezeguet which was originally given as a penalty to Villa by Michael Oliver. But after going over to the screen, the match official decided to reverse his decision and book the Villa forward for diving.

This all meant that Brighton moved onto nine points after eight games heading into a tough run of fixtures.

Brighton 1-1 Liverpool

Just a week later, the Seagulls picked up another huge result with a 1-1 draw against the Champions Liverpool at the Amex.

It was a tight game throughout but Diego Jota gave the visitors the lead on the hour mark after being found by Mo Salah, after Maupay had earlier missed a penalty before being forced off with a hamstring injury.

Salah and Mané both saw goals ruled out via VAR which allowed for the home side to take advantage after being awarded another penalty in the final minute of added time.

Pascal Gross converted from the spot after Andy Robertson clipped Welbeck in the box to help the side pick up another useful point as they looked to move away from the relegation zone.

Leeds United 0-1 Brighton

Arguably, Brighton’s best result of this season came last weekend when they won 1-0 at Elland Road against Leeds United thanks to Neal Maupay’s early goal.

This all ended a run of nine games without a win and took Potter’s men up to 16th to ease their relegation concerns slightly.

Leandro Trossard had two great chances, including a strike that hit the bar. But whilst at 1-0, it was a nervy ending for the visitors despite it being one of Leeds most disappointing displays of the season.

The result took Brighton just six points behind a Leeds team who they limited to just two shots on target in the game and will give them a huge lift moving forward.

Player of the season

It has largely been a very frustrating season for Brighton but there have been a few bright sparks, Welbeck has impressed since joining in the summer and Bissouma has been a vital part to the midfield but Lamptey at right-back has been the most influential play so far.

He has been involved in 11 games in the Premier League, scoring once and supplying one assist and has been superb since his move from Chelsea this time last year and is a pivotal player to the way Potter’s side play.

The 20-year-old has been missing in recent weeks after suffering a hamstring injury prior to Christmas and the club are being very careful with the youngster because they know how much of an important player he will be moving forward.

To underline just how good he has been this season, he has made 19 interceptions this term as well as nine clearances and has supplied 34 crosses which is a club-high and once he is back and involved he will be a massive player for the run-in.

What’s next?

Brighton’s primary goal is to stay up in the Premier League and if they are to do so they need to sort their home form out, they have won just one game at the Amex in the league since December 2019 which is remarkable.

They have picked up some strong results on the road but if they want to move to that next level under Potter then they will need to be more consistent at home between now and the end of the season.

Despite the great win at Leeds last weekend they are still right in the mix at the bottom but have found more of a variety of players scoring goals this season with Welbeck helping Maupay to share the burden which has been on the Frenchman since the start of last season.

Two of Brighton’s next four league games are going to be vital in them pushing away from safety and ensuring they don’t have a nervy end to the season.

They face a visit of Fulham next Wednesday before travelling to Burnley at the beginning of February and you get the sense that they will need to win these kinds of games to make them safe and out of trouble. They shared goalless draws with these two sides in the reverse fixtures earlier in the season.

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