How it happened: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Watford
Brighton and Hove Albion recorded back to back wins to start a Premier League season for the first time ever as they were victorious 2-0 over Watford. Here is how it happened.
This weekend marked an exciting return back to the Amex in a highly anticipated fixture against Watford. The home crowd was absolutely buzzing to support the Seagulls in what would be the first home match to kick off this Premier League campaign.
Confidence levels were soaring off the back of a successful visit to Turf Moor, where the Albion defeated Burnley 2-1 last weekend. Brighton were further spurred on by the support of the home crowd.
A similar starting line-up to last week featured with recent man-of-the-match Shane Duffy starting again alongside Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster in the back line.
Alexis Mac Allister earned a starting place off the back of his match winning goal last week and Adam Lallana was one of the changes in the midfield line-up as Graham Potter sought the support and experience Lallana provides.
The Seagulls got off to a brilliant start at the hands of Duffy who made use of a corner crossed in by Pascal Gross to put Albion ahead only after 10 minutes of play. Chants of “Welcome home” could be heard as the crowd embraced Duffy’s return to the Amex Stadium.
Brighton continued from strength to strength as they appeared far calmer with the ball and dominated possession. Multiple attacks forward were made and another breakthrough was found, this time off the back of Yves Bissouma’s hard work.
The midfielder won the ball over and sent it through to Neal Maupay who capitalised on this one-on-one opportunity and extended the lead to 2-0 after 41 minutes, making his goal return two from two matches.
A dream first half was just what Potter would have hoped for. The possession statistics after 45 minutes showed Albion as being the dominant team, recording 69 percent. The worrying signs for Watford were that they failed to have a single shot on target.
The second half kicked off with Aaron Connolly starting in place of the injured Maupay. Connolly nearly added another goal as his shot came painfully close, flying just wide to rattle the stanchion.
Duffy continued to pose further threats from corners as he disrupted the Watford defence. Enoch “The Computer” Mwepu came on as a substitute to provide some fresh legs later in the half and looked to show off the game-reading skills which earned him his nickname at former club Red Bull Salzburg.
Brighton managed to hold their nerve as Watford sought to mount a late succession of counter attacks to try and get on the scoreboard but to no success as the Albion’s Premier League experience paid off.
The game was well closed out and ended 2-0 to Brighton, completing a second successive Potter tactical master class. As already mentioned, this is the first time in Seagulls history that they have won their opening two fixtures in top flight football and they continue to deliver on what looks to be a very exciting season ahead.
Yves Bissouma topped the WAB Player Ratings as a result of his dominance in the midfield and constant presence throughout the game. He recorded the following statistics:
- Assists 1
- Tackles 5
- Duels won 11
- Interceptions 5
If you listened closely to the post game murmurs of the fans, discussion was centred on trying to decide what was more impressive: Brighton’s performance, Duffy’s header or Potter’s Beard. It is believed that Potter’s beard won that particular contest.
Attention now turns to next weekend, when we will see another great clash of teams as the Seagulls look to continue their winning form against Everton on home soil at the Amex.
Everton will provide a much sterner test than Burnley and Watford have so far, but with six point from six games Brighton will have every reason to feel confident. Stay tuned for more How it happened!
