Brighton's flying start raises question of title credentials
Brighton sit third after seven games, top the league for goals scored and fewest conceded, but supporters and pundits are divided on whether a title challenge is realistic.
Brighton and Hove Albion made it four straight Premier League wins with a 5-0 demolition of Crystal Palace on Sunday, a run in which they have scored 15 goals without reply. Diego Gomez scored from the halfway line inside seven minutes and Jack Hinshelwood completed the scoring from close range as the Seagulls underlined their attacking threat in the A23 derby.
Fabian Hurzeler's side have been the division's most watchable team so far, and the numbers back it up: no side has scored more or conceded fewer. After seven games Brighton are third on 16 points, behind champions Arsenal and leaders Manchester City, who have won every match. They have also recorded a league-high five clean sheets and remain unbeaten at home.
The attack has been reshaped after the summer departure of Danny Welbeck to Chelsea, following Joao Pedro's earlier move to the same club. Greece striker Charalampos Kostoulas, 19, has stepped up with three league goals and two assists, while Pascal Gross has impressed in a deeper role. Eleven different Brighton players have scored in the league, and the club rank among the division's leaders for shots on target and expected goals.
Match of the Day pundit Dion Dublin, a title winner with Manchester United in 1992-93, pointed to the squad's togetherness and the manager's decision-making, describing Brighton as a frightening team at present. Supporters are more cautious. Alan, co-host of the Albion Roar podcast, said talk of a title challenge is premature and that Champions League qualification is the club's real ambition, while adding that fans are entitled to dream.
History offers both encouragement and a warning. Of the seven previous Premier League teams to score 23 or more goals in their first seven games, all but one finished in the top three; the exception was Newcastle's 'Entertainers' side of 1994-95, who faded to sixth. Brighton must also balance Conference League football, and their final position could be shaped by Manchester City's financial-rule case, with the champions appealing against a guilty verdict and any points deduction still unknown. Brighton visit the Etihad on Halloween.
