Brighton Shock Manchester United With 2-1 At Amex Stadium
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler chose his words carefully after Joao Pedro had given his side a dramatic 2-1 win against Manchester United at Amex Stadium.
Euphoria was certainly a word to encapsulate the noise that greeted the final whistle even though, with five victories in the past six meetings against United, beating them has become routine.
Maybe it was starting the season with successive victories, although Brighton did that last term as well.
Quite possibly it was that, again, they have found a manager who can continue the club’s forward momentum, which has taken them to places their supporters could never have dreamed of two decades ago.
“It was emotional,” said Hurzeler. “It always is when you get a win in the last minute and my team deserved to win.
“It is difficult to describe emotions. That is why I love the job. You can’t buy these emotions and you won’t get them from anywhere else.
“But we have to be honest, if United score it would be very difficult for us. I am realistic, never euphoric, because if you are euphoric it means you lose the focus on the realistic things.”
That seems a roundabout way of Hurzeler saying he keeps his feet on the ground.
There was an element of luck about Brighton’s win in the sense that, on a sodden surface, Joshua Zirkzee could do nothing to halt his slide towards goal after he had failed to turn home Bruno Fernandes’ 72nd-minute cross, and was unfortunate enough not to have passed the line when Alejandro Garnacho’s shot hit him – leading to the goal being disallowed for offside.
Yet there is a smoothness about the transition from Roberto de Zerbi to Hurzeler that offers a strong hint Brighton got it right by naming the 31-year-old former St Pauli coach as the Italian’s successor in the summer.
Hammering Everton at Goodison Park and beating Manchester United at home is a pleasing way to start the campaign. Pleasing, but not surprising.
“No,” said Hurzeler. “It is not surprise. There are some great characters here. It is a community and like a family. Everyone is buying into it.
“My job is about building on the foundations of the last three years, because the success the club has had in that time is massive.
“That is why I didn’t change a lot of things. I am just trying to integrate with my team and give the club the success they deserve.”
