Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton have made a daunting start look easy – so what next?
When the Premier League fixtures were released in June, it would have been logical to predict that Brighton & Hove Albion would enter the November international break in the bottom half of the table; perhaps, in a worst-case scenario, dicing with the relegation zone.
It promised to be a brutal introduction to English football for Fabian Hurzeler , the new head coach hired having just won promotion from the second tier in Germany with Hamburg's St Pauli at just 31 years of age: seven of the previous season's top eight in his first 11 league games in charge.
And yet here we are, after those 11 matches, with Brighton in sixth place on 19 points — the best start in their past eight seasons as members of the Premier League. Hurzeler has steered a squad beset by injuries and with several new signings to integrate to wins at home against Manchester City , Tottenham and Manchester United , and away at Newcastle , plus a draw at Arsenal and a narrow defeat against Liverpool at Anfield.
It bodes well for the club's aim to qualify for Europe this season for only the second time in their history. The previous Brighton side to do so took 15 points from their first 11 games, in 2022-23, and went on to finish sixth with 62 points under Roberto De Zerbi.
A recent study of what we can learn from the Premier League table after each team has played 10 matches by The Athletic's Mark Carey showed that drastic changes of position from there until the end of the season are isolated. So, it is reasonable to think Brighton are capable of staying in contention for a European place over the next six months.
Hurzeler spoke to The Athletic in late October, eight league games into his reign, about what he confronted when he succeeded De Zerbi in the summer. "Our schedule was not the easiest one," he said. "For me, the points are not important at the moment. It's more the consistency of performances."
"After eight games, we only lost one. So you can see, from this perspective, it's difficult to beat us and it is difficult to play against us. That is where you have to take your strength, energy, power, self-confidence — that we can be like a team nobody wants to play against. You need this consistency to get a picture of the team. The schedule doesn't get easier, there are always challenges."
Since making those remarks, Hurzeler's side have dropped two points from 2-0 up after 87 minutes at home to Wolves , lost by the odd goal to Liverpool in successive games, in the Carabao Cup at the Amex Stadium (3-2) and in the Premier League at Anfield (2-1, having led after 69 minutes), followed by coming from behind on Saturday to beat champions City 2-1 at home.
That draw with Wolves, who are second-bottom of the table, is a warning shot against taking points for granted in the next set of 11 games through to the middle of January — a run which, on the face of it, certainly appears kinder than the first 11. Brighton are, after all, experts in the 'Bananenschale' — the German equivalent of a banana skin, or unexpected slip-up, and seven of the 11 matches are away from home.
Even so, there are reasons to be optimistic about what Hurzeler and his players can achieve between now and the end of the season.
Brighton had their previous best start in the Premier League after 11 games under De Zerbi last season, with a haul of 18 points before fading to finish 11th. They were undermined by a combination of injuries, the distraction of reaching the last 16 of the Europa League and a growing rift with De Zerbi about player recruitment policy which prompted his exit by mutual consent when the campaign ended in May.
Midweek European fixtures will not get in the way this time for Hurzeler and he has no qualms about the club's preference for developing young talent sourced from all parts of the world, rather than the more established signings De Zerbi wanted.
Hurzeler will, however, need the luck his predecessor lacked on injuries clearing up to assist with a push for Europe. Take that 2-1 defeat at Anfield, for example. Hurzeler's side were good value for more than a single-goal lead after an impressive first half, despite being without a spine of skipper and centre-back Lewis Dunk (calf), central midfielder Carlos Baleba (knee, so only fit enough for the bench) and striker Joao Pedro (ankle).
Other key figures, such as Yankuba Minteh , Jan Paul van Hecke , Pervis Estupinan and James Milner have missed significant chunks of these opening 11 games due to injuries, and £25million summer signing Matt O'Riley had been restricted to nine minutes of game time in the Carabao Cup against Crawley in August, where he suffered ankle ligament damage, until his winner as a substitute in the City game. Joao Pedro had earlier come off the bench to equalise in what was the Brazilian's first appearance since September 22.
Hurzeler's squad will be boosted in the January transfer window by the arrival of Paraguay international midfielder Diego Gomez from Inter Miami of MLS , whose 2024 season ended with play-offs defeat at the weekend.
So how far are Brighton from reaching their full potential?
Hurzeler, speaking recently to The Athleticsaid: "I have to give this answer in two ways. First, I have to work with the players available and we try to get out completely the potential of these players. They are doing it well so far. There is still a lot of improvement, a lot of potential.
"Second, we still miss a lot of great players, important players for us. Joao Pedro is a big one, also Matt O'Riley will help us; Minteh, James Milner, Adam Webster . So, there are still a lot of important players missing. On the one side, we have to deal with this, because the Premier League is very intense. On the other side, I am sure the day will come when every player will be available and then you can really work competitively in training, really try to get the best version of the players on the pitch, because they have to compete with each other.
"The last thing is if you get players on the pitch that can make a difference, it changes a game.
"In conclusion, I have to work with the players available and they are doing great so far, showing togetherness. It's important to have that. If you want to replace individual players, you can't do that one by one, you have to do that together. That is what my team has proved."
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/)
