Deniz Undav scored the first and last of Brighton's six Amex goals. Photo: Getty Images/Robin Jones Brighton vs Wolves Match Summary
If you asked a group of Brighton fans to name their team's top three players, many of them would name Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma.
It was a stunning reflection of the work that Roberto De Zerbi is doing on the south coast, the Italian resting all three players here and Brighton still producing one of the best offensive moves of any team this season.
This beating of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were truly pathetic, was the result of everything that makes Brighton such an irresistible club. This is what happens when you combine world-class recruiting with elite-level coaching, and this is what it looks like when every player knows their role in one of the most nimble and advanced tactical systems in the European game.
Passing accuracy, running speed, attacking movement, defensive composure: it was all at Brighton, who had never won a top division match by more than four goals before. They ended the afternoon two points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with two games to go and are looking better and better to qualify for European competition for the first time in their history.
Such was De Zerby's complete control over the day, it even seemed that the seagulls hovered overhead according to his clear instructions. The Brighton head coach has taken on Graham Potter's job and is building something extraordinary on the south coast, and there have been times when local fans couldn't seem to believe what they were seeing.
Danny Welbeck's quick-firing brace ended the game before Undawa's last punch. : Reuters/Toby Melville
“The best result of my coaching career,” said De Zerby. «We scored six goals, but if we talk about the level of play, style of play, quality of play, then we play football of a very high level.»
De Zerby later said that this victory began at Wembley at last week, when his side lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals. “We suffered a lot after Wembley because we deserved to win. “Players are not like robots. They have a soul, they have a heart.”
He also believes that his players deserve to score over 52 points this season, which is already their highest overall record in the big leagues. «We deserved to reach our goal,» De Zerby said of the European qualification.
Remarkably, the score doesn't even accurately reflect Brighton's level of dominance. They finished with six goals, but really could have been more against a team of wolves who defended with all the hardness of raw paper. “I apologize to the fans,” said Wolves head coach Julen Lopetegui. «Bad day. Very bad day. I didn't recognize my team.»
Lopetegui is no fool, but here he looked like this. After 16 minutes, when his team had already scored two goals, he frantically gestured towards his players and begged them to change their uniforms. Did they not listen, or was plan B even worse than plan A? Hard to say. Whatever it was, it wasn't a good reflection of the players or their coach.
South coast horror show for Julen Lopetegui. Photo: Reuters/Peter Cziborra
A run of three wins in four games put the Wolves out of danger of relegation and they would likely be safe despite the loss, but it was still the ultimate humiliation. José Sa, their goalkeeper, apologized to the fans at half-time — and there are two more Brighton goals ahead.
Denise Undave, Danny Welbeck and Pascal Gross each scored two goals for Brighton, whose fans are already feeling better with the possible loss of Caicedo, Mack Allister and Mitoma this summer. When these three rested, players like Julio Enciso and Billy Gilmour switched sides and prospered. «Gilmour was the best player on the field,» De Zerby said.
Brighton's three goals were easy, with Undava and Welbeck scoring from close range, and Undava's second goal — a delicate trick — after he robbed Matheus Nunez of the ball. The other three, however, were excellent, with Gross scoring from a quick counter-attack, then a long-range shot into the top corner before Welbeck landed his second shot from the edge of the box.
Line-ups Brighton — Wolverhampton Wolves
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