Brighton unlock ‘The Computer’ to help end their winless run

Of all of the weird and wonderful nicknames in the game of football, Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Enock Mwepu’s moniker of ‘The Computer’ is not one of the most obvious.

Mwepu had the name bestowed upon him by a youth team coach in his native Zambia, supposedly because of a unique playing style that helped him to stand out from other players his age.

Whilst it has taken some time for Seagulls head coach Graham Potter to install the DNA of his exciting young team on the rangy midfielder’s hard drive, the 23-year-old’s performance in the 2-0 win against Brentford on Boxing Day was a promising sign of things to come.

Confident in possession and equally as effective without the ball, Mwepu completed nine of the 13 final third passes he attempted, pulled off two successful dribbles, and also won the ball back for his team on 10 occasions.

Yet his defining moment came in creating the first goal of the evening as he lofted a perfectly-weighted pass in the direction of Leandro Trossard, allowing the Belgian to lob the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez without needing to take a second touch.

It is not as though we had not already seen glimpses of the Zambian international’s quality in a Brighton shirt though. He had a transformative effect on his team’s second-half performance in the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City before scoring a wonderful goal at Anfield the following weekend to launch a Seagulls comeback.

A hip injury picked up midway through the game against Newcastle seven days later came at exactly the wrong time for Mwepu, as he looked on course to establish himself as an important part of Potter’s first-choice starting XI.

He was forced to miss the next three games before being restored to the side for the 1-1 draw at Southampton, but then suffered the ignominy of missing a glorious chance in the 1-0 defeat against Wolves that saw the Seagulls winless run stretch to 12 games across all competitions.

A greater volume of goals and assists from midfield will be vital if Brighton are going to better their league finishes of 15th and 16th over the past two campaigns, and although Trossard has undeniably risen to the challenge, Mwepu’s progression could go a long way to relieving the burden on his teammate’s shoulders.

His willingness to regularly burst into opposition penalty areas makes him something of a unique option in the middle of the park, especially with Pascal Gross no longer guaranteed a place in the team.

With captain Lewis Dunk and Bissouma – probably the Seagulls’ best player in Potter’s two full seasons on the South Coast – both absent for the visit of Brentford, it would have been no great surprise to see something of an uncharacteristic performance from a patched up side.

But if those two years were typified by fairly negative traits in terms of an inability to take chances at one end and a tendency to let in unnecessary goals at the other, it feels as though we are starting to get used to this Brighton outfit showcasing quality on a consistent basis.

They managed to start attacks from deep and maintain control in midfield. Marc Cucurella was exceptional on the left side of the defence and Adam Lallana thrived in a withdrawn midfield role. Neal Maupay even managed to score a well-taken goal on top of his usual tireless work for the team.

But it was another constant from throughout Potter’s tenure that really stood out against Brentford. The 46-year-old’s capacity to innovate has been one of the features of his time in English football so far, and it was on full display to help get the better of Thomas Frank on Boxing Day.

Dan Burn was commanding in an unfamiliar centre-back partnership with Adam Webster, restricting Ivan Toney to just two shots over the 90 minutes.

Even though it has not been uncommon for Lallana to be used in a deeper role since he arrived at the Amex in the summer of 2020, it has rarely been without either Bissouma or Gross alongside him. However, he was left anchoring a fluid, attack-minded midfield against the Bees.

“While we have been picking up points it’s also nice to win so that was important for us on the back of a little run which we are frustrated with, which isn’t very nice.

“To win was fantastic. (I am) Really pleased. Clean sheet, two goals.”

– Brighton Head Coach Graham Potter

The 12-match winless run has understandably clouded an exceptional start to the season, and the number of postponed games across the Premier League has only blurred the picture further, but this was a sign that a successful second half to the season is well within this team’s capabilities.

The festive period is usually a time for discovering the benefits of a recently-acquired gift, and if Brighton can keep their new computer fit and firing it could go a long way to helping them save some money by the time the January sales come about.

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