Brighton & Hove Albion made their mark on Sunday afternoon with a 5–0 win away at newly promoted Coventry City. Pascal Groß in particular caught the eye during the thrashing.
The most Premier League goals so far this season? Brighton & Hove Albion actually hold that record. Thanks to their 5–0 thrashing of Coventry City on Sunday afternoon, German manager Fabian Hürzeler’s side have already scored 13 goals and conceded just 5 – and are, at least for the time being, sitting in a Champions League spot.
The opening goal against the Premier League’s bottom side – who remain without points or goals – was scored by the top Greek talent Kostoulas, who was set up by Groß on the right of the penalty area just over half an hour into the game and superbly lifted the ball over two defenders with a header before finishing with a bouncing shot (35).
Brighton extended their narrow lead immediately after the restart, as Yalcouyé proved far too quick for his two markers on the left and coolly slotted the ball into the near corner (51). Two minutes later, former Mainz and Union striker Awoniyi did his team a disservice and, with the score at 0–2, was deservedly shown a red card for violent conduct.
Former Stuttgart player Chema makes his debut – and scores straight away
Down to ten men, Brighton calmly saw out the match and sealed the victory in the 70th minute – courtesy of Groß. This time, Kostoulas ‘got his own back’ in the penalty area, winning a penalty which the 19-time German international coolly converted. Shortly afterwards, former Stuttgart player Chema made his mark on his Premier League debut, setting up Dunk, who scored a truly spectacular goal. The tall centre-back curled the ball into the bottom-left corner from over 20 metres out in a central position (83’.)
Things got even worse for Coventry – as Groß came to the fore once again: after a short run down the left flank, he set up Ayari, who slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to make it 5–0 (90+4). With three goals to his name, Groß is likely to have caught the eye of Germany manager Jürgen Klopp.
Meanwhile, Brighton have made their mark and seem ready for a “week of truth”, as they travel to Old Trafford on Wednesday for the third round of the League Cup, before hosting champions Arsenal next Saturday.
