Six days can be a very long time in football, and Brighton have certainly made the most of theirs. After suffering Wembley heartbreak against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals last weekend, the Seagulls romped to victory over Wolves on Saturday to remain in striking distance of the Premier League’s top seven and a place in Europe for the first time in the club’s 121-year history. Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck all scored twice in a one-sided match at the Amex Stadium which leaves the Seagulls just two points shy of fifth-placed Tottenham with two games in hand. Brighton also have a game in hand on Liverpool in seventh, while sixth-placed Aston Villa have played two games more than Roberto de Zerbi’s side.
De Zerbi left star performers Kaoru Mitoma, Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo on the bench, but any fears that the Italian’s bold team selection would backfire were allayed with just six minutes on the clock. By half-time, those pre-match concerns seemed ridiculous. Undav opened the scoring from Welbeck’s clever flick, before a Gross double – including a sensational long-range effort set up by the brilliant Julio Enciso – and a Welbeck header made it 4-0 at the break. Brighton were gifted two further goals in the second half, as Undav and Welbeck struck again to earn the Seagulls their biggest-ever top-flight triumph and match their record top-division tally of 52 points in emphatic fashion.
Former England and Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock, who was working for Final Score on Saturday, feels the Seagulls deserve to compete in Europe next season. “It would be great to see Brighton get something at the end of the season,” said the 41-year-old. “They would be a great addition to European football because of the way they play. They would be a fantastic advert for English football.”
Seven teams can qualify for Europe from the Premier League, but victory for West Ham in the Europe Conference League this term would give England eight continental representatives in 2023-24. While fifth place is the only guaranteed Europa League spot in the top flight, the FA Cup final between Manchester rivals City and United means an extra place will be granted via the league – unless Erik ten Hag’s team drop out of the top five. The only Europa Conference League place is awarded to the Carabao Cup winners but with United – victors over Newcastle back in February – likely to secure a top-five finish, the next-highest team not to qualify for Europe – seventh – would play in the Europa Conference League play-offs. After Saturday’s thumping win, however, Brighton have every reason to be aiming higher. Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s all about the Europa League now [for Brighton]. It’s very exciting to see who gets those spots. It will be a mad scramble.”