Sussex

On the latest Albion Unlimited podcast, BBC Radio Sussex's Brighton reporter Johnny Cantor and former Seagulls Warren Aspinall and Guy Butters analyse the 5-0 win over Crystal Palace, the upcoming Conference League tie against Jablonec and the following game against Liverpool.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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Listen to every Brighton game live on BBC Radio Sussex, with all the build-up and full commentary with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall, and there is a full preview of all Seagulls' matches on Fridays at 18:00 in The Weekend Warm-up

Former Brighton defender Adam Webster says he is a little surprised by their success early on this season.

"I think in the summer it was quite a bit of a transition," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"A lot of senior players left, new players coming to the league, Andrew Crofts left who is a big character in the coaching team. So it has surprised me but at the same time it hasn't as I know how hard everyone at the club works in terms of bringing in all these players you have never heard of and all of a sudden they are superstars."

Asked how aware players are of the plans in place for them at Brighton given a tendency to loan players out, Webster said: "As players you want to play every game so sometimes, players want to go elsewhere to get that. Caicedo trained with us a few times, he was young and we were really impressed with him. Suddenly he goes on loan to a team in Belgium. He goes there, comes back in and was our best player.

"The chairman and manager all know there's a plan for these players to come in."

Watch clips of the show above and below or listen in full on BBC Sounds

Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton pointed to Brighton's lack of reliance on a single source of goals. "They have scored every type of goal - 11 different scorers. For Liverpool it's Isak, for Man City it's Haaland and yet for Brighton - have a guess? Top scorers there are three on three goals. They are spreading it about. They load the box brilliantly."

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Exactly a month ago on this page I wrote glowingly about Brighton, saying this:

"Arsenal's three-goal capitulation was initially a shock, but should it still be a surprise down at Brighton? This season the Seagulls have also scored three against Chelsea and Manchester United, four against Tromso and Aston Villa, while slapping Coventry with five.

"This does not look like a lucky run of form or a purple patch on the pitch; this looks like who they are now."

In that same newsletter, I reckoned they were comfortably capable of a top-six finish. Since then, they have scored seven without reply against Sunderland and old rivals Crystal Palace, while netting four more against Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris. My initial suggestion of top six sounds slightly less bold already, though I could argue that top six means anywhere from first to sixth, of course!

So I agree that they have the capability to stay up there, but can they overhaul Manchester City? Probably not, but then again, the question remains: will they need to? Any decent level of points deduction for City changes that dynamic immediately.

The next real challenger is, of course, Arsenal, which brings to mind the aforementioned three-goal capitulation by Mikel Arteta's men back in mid-September.

Even so, I am still not ready to call Brighton challengers for the title. The rigours of European football will not help them with limitations in their squad depth in comparison with City and Arsenal.

Brighton have five games in 14 very stressful days coming up; Liverpool away, Manchester City away twice (once in the cup) and two European trips.

If they are still on a winning streak after that gruelling period, no-one will be counting them out.

In simple terms, it would be a shock but not as big a shock as Leicester City being champions back in 2016.

Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here.

Chris Adams
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

When Jack Hinshelwood unapologetically smashed home Brighton and Hove Albion's fifth goal of the game against bitter rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday, it completed a fourth straight Premier League win for the high-flying Seagulls - with an aggregate scoreline of 15-0.

Hinshelwood's volley from two yards out to wrap up a 5-0 victory was in stark contrast to his team-mate Diego Gomez's audacious effort from the halfway line that put Brighton two up in just the seventh minute of the A23 derby.

Fabian Hurzeler's free-scoring side have arguably been the most entertaining top-flight team to watch this season, but they have backed up their attacking flair with a robust defence. No team has scored more and no team has conceded fewer goals.

After seven games, they sit third on 16 points behind reigning champions Arsenal and table-toppers Manchester City, who have a 100% record. But can the Seagulls maintain their momentum and mount a serious title challenge?

"Why not?"

That's the opinion of Match of the Day pundit Dion Dublin, who played in Manchester United's 1992-93 title-winning side. "Because what we've seen of them this season is just togetherness, harmony... the manager's making good decisions.

"[Pascal] Gross is leading the line in regards to what goes on on the pitch and what is the right kind of way they want to play. And everybody's chipping in with goals. The look a very, very frightening team at the moment."

Read: Are free-scoring Brighton genuine title contenders?

Brighton are said to be "relaxed" about the long-term future of manager Fabian Hurzeler after an impressive start to the season, with the 33-year-old German linked to a possible move to Manchester United in recent weeks. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Andrew Raeburn
BBC Sport, London & South East

Crawley Town boss Colin Kazim-Richards said the club's next two games are "massive" both "for me personally and for the team".

The Reds currently sit at the foot of League Two, with just five points from their first nine games.

Their latest defeat came in a 2-1 loss away to league leaders Salford City on Saturday.

Kazim-Richards took over as head coach in March and has won five of his 20 games in charge, but did steer them to League Two survival on the final day of last season.

Crawley's next two games are both at home, to 14th-placed Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday and 17th-placed Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

And, speaking to BBC Radio Sussex after the Salford defeat, Kazim-Richards accepted the magnitude of those matches on the team's position and his own.

"These two games are massive, for me personally and for the team as well," he said.

"We've played against two of the top sides consecutively, Chesterfield and Salford, and now we are going to play against a couple of teams that are probably more around where we are now, with all due respect, if you're looking at the table.

"It's two very, very important games, for the team and for me personally."

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Brighton and Crystal Palace.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Kevin: Watching the game at home with my son, Josh, who commented, "blimey, it's like watching Barcelona". Summed it up rather well, I thought!

Alexander: What a time to be a Brighton fan. I'm one of only about 30 fans in our Scandinavian Brighton group on Facebook, but we are all ecstatic about this win. Surely only a matter of time until the continued success we are seeing will help grow the fanbase across Europe.

Mike: Electric. They chased down every ball - just like they did against Arsenal. A pure team performance.

Steve: Early days, but Fabian Hurzeler has the magic touch that the players are buying into. People are saying our squad depth will be a problem with Europe as well, but if he rotates properly and keeps everyone happy, this could be a defining season for Brighton. Hurzeler has his head screwed on. He won't be tempted by Manchester United yet, not while he's building something so special at Brighton. Tony Bloom recruits the right players, under the right manager, who plays the right system. Round pegs in round holes. It's brilliant and simple. Data analysis at its best.

Crystal Palace fans

Darren: The chickens have definitely come home to roost. Too many games, too many chances given to the opposition. We lack any defensive shape, and I'm sorry, but that's poor coaching. Pierre Sage needs to sort it out - quickly!

Ray: I feared we would be candidates for relegation right at the start of the season. Bad attitude in the camp where everyone half decent has been looking for a move away.

Terry: Sage needs more time, but Sunday and midweek is exactly why you cannot sell your two best centre-backs and not replace them with any experience or quality when you play a back three.

Adrian: Proper shocking. Sage has to change tactics and formation. We always give up an early chance. The defence is disorganised and the midfield needs help. We need leaders to grit their teeth and get about the opposition, and soon.

Match of the Day pundits Shay Given and Dion Dublin analyse Brighton's emphatic 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace, with Dublin saying the Seagulls could be in the title race.

"What we've seen from them this season has been togetherness and harmony," Dublin said. "The manager is making good decisions and [Pascal] Gross is leading the line on the pitch.

"What is going on on the pitch is the right way they want to play and everybody is chipping in with goals. They look like a very frightening team at the moment."

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton have never finished higher than sixth in English football's top flight, but now have 16 points from seven matches, with fan hopes rising that they could make a real push for Champions League qualification, or even a title challenge.

Their tally of 23 top-flight goals is four more than league leaders Manchester City, and more than double the 11 of reigning champions Arsenal.

Since the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League in 1992, only three sides have scored more goals across their first seven games of a season - Arsenal in 2009-10 (24), Manchester United in 2011-12 (24), and Manchester City in 2019-20 (27).

In the top five European leagues, only Barcelona, with 39 goals from nine La Liga matches, have more domestic league goals than Brighton.

With 10 different goalscorers, Brighton, third in the table, have also been the great entertainers of the season so far.

They won their opening league game 4-0 against an Aston Villa side that came fourth in 2025-26 and Fabian Hurzeler's team have shown that was not a one-off. Results since have included winning 5-0 at Coventry, 3-0 against Arsenal, 2-0 at Sunderland despite having a man sent off, and now 5-0 against rivals Palace.

In the Carabao Cup, they fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Old Trafford and eliminate Manchester United. In Europe, they have justified their position as Conference League favourites, putting four past both Norwegian side Tromso and Lithuanian champions Kauno Zalgiris.

For Fabian Hurzeler, the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history when he was appointed in June 2024 at the age of 31, the atmosphere at the Amex could not have been any more different to their previous match with Crystal Palace.

When the Eagles won 1-0 in February, Brighton were 14th, had only won one of 12 league games with the home fans chanting "you're getting sacked in the morning" at their own boss.

Therefore, it is no surprise that Hurzeler is not getting carried away at his side's good form.

He was quick to shut down any talk that Brighton could be involved in the Premier League title race and said: "We have to stay very humble. The season will be long.

Read more on Brighton's brilliant form here