Brighton vs Southampton: Brighton shared the spoils with Southampton after a highly entertaining 1-1 draw at Falmer Stadium. In the first half Kaoru Mitama scored from the penalty area in the 29th minute while in the second half, Flynn Downes got his goal in the 59 th minute after making a sober move to produce a brilliant mathematical point apiece.
The Seagulls who are always an effective side that plays an attacking style football came into the match amped up and controlled the ball most of the first half. Southampton, however, showed their character and took advantage of a rare chance to equalize at the second half. It was a match that displayed flashes of the two teams, just what the world wants to see this season.
Brighton vs Southampton Team Lineup
Brighton Lineup (4-4-2):
Goalkeeper: B. Verbruggen
Defenders: T. Lamptey, J. P. van Hecke, Igor and P. Estupiñán
Midfielders: G. Rutter, M. O’Riley, Y. Ayari, k. Mitoma
Forwards: D. Welbeck, J. Pedro
Substitutes: Julio Enciso, Evan Ferguson, Deniz Undav
Southampton Lineup (5-4-1):
Goalkeeper: J. Lumley
Defenders: Rising, K. Walker-Peters, J. Stephens, T.Harwood-Bellis, Y. Sugawara
Midfielders: A. Armstrong, M. Fernandes, F. Downes & T. Dibling
Forward: C. Archer
Substitutes: Carlos Alcaraz, Sekou Mara
First Half: Brighton Strikes First
More interesting in this first half, Brighton is clearly dominating the midfield as they enjoyed 53% of the ball possession, succeeded 458 passes with the accuracy of 90%. Moldova’s persistence was rewarded in the 29th minute when Kaoru Mitoma scored out of the blues. Getting on to a cross from the left flank, Mitoma beat one man and calmly furnished the ball into the bottom right corner as Southampton’s goalie J. Lumley looked on helpless.
Southampton, which deployed a lowly 5-4-1 formation, was unable to threaten the Berlin goal before the break. Brighton was managing the game better than Wembley, and the score remained 1-0 in favour of Brighton at the halftime thanks to some good tackling by T. Harwood-Bellis and J. Stephens.
Second Half: Flynn Downes Levels the Score
Southampton started the second half with more intent and with players pushing Brighton further back up the pitch. They were rewarded at the 59th minute when the team’s midfielder Flynn Downes scored a goal. A well delivered corner caused confusion in Brighton’s penalty area and Downes put it home with a good headed effort to make it 1-1.
The game continued to unfold, and Brighton was recorded to have had 22 attempts by the end of the match, although Southampton shocked the visitors by holding a very cohesive defence. J. In the 73rd minute Pedro was nearly able to equalize for Brighton but his shot was denied by the reflexes of Lumley.
While Southampton could only muster 10 attempts on goals, on target twice, the team was more effective in converting those opportunities.
Brighton vs Southampton Match Stats
Shots: Brighton scored 22 while Southampton scored 10 goals.
Shots on Target: Brighton – 5, Southampton – 2
Possession: Brighton – 53% and Southampton – 47%.
Passes: Brighton – 458 . Southampton – 421
Pass Accuracy: The second highest pass rate was recorded at Brighton at 90% With Southampton closely following at 87%.
Fouls: Brighton – 20, Southampton – 16
Corners: Brighton – 7, Southampton – 6
These stats show how superior Brighton was in terms of possession and passing, but stubborn Southampton defense and the ability to capitalize on and create a chance ultimately won the game.
Brighton vs Southampton Player Performances
Brighton
Kaoru Mitoma: Brighton and his goal-shining player and ingenuity, and Southampton remained pinned in defense most of the time.
- O’Riley: Excelled in the midfield and provided defense by accurate distribution of the ball.
- Verbruggen: Several times he made important interventions to prevent Southampton from scoring a second goal.
Southampton
Flynn Downes: His equalizer was a big bonus, and his physical re-establishment in the midfield also corrected the flow of Southampton’s game.
- Lumley: Made several crucial interventions to ensure Southampton were not out of the game.
- Harwood-Bellis: Solid in defence, rising to intercept and clear dangerous balls from in front of the goal area.
Yellow Cards
In the match, rough contact was not absent; Brighton got 2 yellow cards, and Southampton got 4. M. Among the players who received only a caution were O’Riley and K. Walker-Peters.
Fan Reactions
The mood at the Falmer stadium was tense, the Brighton fans applauded Mitoma’s skills and at the same time complaining about the missed chances. The Southampton fans lauded their side’s fighting spirit as well the match-winning intervention by Flynn Downes.
There were so many comments about Mitoma’s goal on social media that many of them called him a ‘game changer.’ On the other hand, Southampton success to contain Brighton was commended, many noting especially their act of discipline in defense.
Manager Reactions
Roberto De Zerbi (Brighton Manager):
“For the majority of the match, we were able to craft numerous opportunities and be on top of our visitors in terms of ball possession, but we were blunt in front of their goal area. Mitoma had set his target high, but that was a little off: we needed to be more ruthless.
Russell Martin (Southampton Manager):
“A great team effort today. Downes was excellent, the defence was hardworking. That is always not easy against a side like Brighton but we were quite character and strength.”
Brighton vs Southampton
English football was once again confirmed to be highly competitive by the Brighton vs Southampton match. Brighton would have been disappointed for not being able to convert their chances while Southampton can pride itself for a good fight, and good strategy.
The two sides will have intentions of extending on this kind of performance as they plan for their next matches. Concerning Brighton, you can only say that the team continues to play aggressively and brilliantly in the attacking third, while Southampton demonstrate an impressive ability to put up a strong defensive performance. The game ended 1-1 and thus it portrayed the class that most of the games have at this particular level require. Both the teams supporters has eyes on the next weeks expecting more exciting moments in the Premier league season.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Brighton vs Southampton rivalry and other UEFA Premier League action.
