Brighton & Hove Albion’s attempts to navigate the rigours of Europa League and Premier League football have, to date, done little to dull the attacking verve of Roberto De Zerbi’s side.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for their defensive resolve and, after relinquishing the lead in an entertaining 1-1 draw against Fulham at the Amex Stadium, Brighton became the first team in the Premier League era to both score and concede in each of their opening ten league games.
More worrying for De Zerbi, however, is that the 19 goals Brighton have shipped represent 35 per cent of the goals they conceded during the whole of last season.
The Italian made six changes to the XI that beat a woeful Ajax 2-0 on Thursday, continuing his policy of rotating heavily between European Thursday nights and Premier League Sundays.
Evan Ferguson added to his burgeoning reputation when he gave Brighton the lead midway through the first half with a typically clinical finish. But De Zerbi was left to rue his team’s profligacy during a dominant opening 45 minutes when João Palhinha curled in a magnificent equaliser for a much improved Fulham after the break.
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“I’m really frustrated and disappointed with the result,” De Zerbi, the Brighton head coach, said. “I think we played a great game, especially three days after the Ajax game at home. We could have scored more goals in the first half. But we conceded when we lost balance.”
Fulham, meanwhile — after a heavily disrupted pre-season, which included speculation over Marco Silva’s future as head coach and the departure of the talismanic Aleksandar Mitrovic to the Saudi Pro League — have gathered the same number of points after ten games as they had at this point last season, when they finished with their highest points tally since the 2011-12 season.
Like many visitors to the Amex these days, Fulham began the game cautiously, unwilling to be drawn into Brighton’s trap, holding a solid mid-block and pressing only when Brighton tried to advance into the away team’s half. Easier in theory than practice, of course, and by the end of the opening 45 minutes they were fortunate that the deficit was not greater than a single goal.
“We were not at the level in the first half,” Silva said. “Too erratic on the ball. Not dynamic enough. Not aggressive enough. The speech at half-time was important. In the second half we were much more on the front foot. We pressed them high, and when we made them uncomfortable, we gained more belief and confidence to play.”
Brighton’s combinations on the wings caused havoc with Fulham’s game plan. On the right, Simon Adingra inflicted a torrid opening 45 minutes upon the left back Antonee Robinson, while on the left Mahmoud Dahoud and Adam Lallana, working in tandem with the electric Kaoru Mitoma, carved Fulham open on several occasions.
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Mitoma and Adingra, lining up as wingbacks in De Zerbi’s tweaked 3-4-2-1 formation, were guilty of missing chances, as was Carlos Baleba, the dynamic 19-year-old midfielder signed from Lille in the summer.
But when Harrison Reed’s sloppy forward pass was intercepted by Igor Julio, Ferguson punished Fulham with ruthless precision. Julio galloped forward, moving the ball on to Pascal Gross. The German drew out Tim Ream, then slipped the ball to the space the Fulham defender had vacated.
When Ferguson is presented with an opportunity, there is a growing sense of inevitability about what comes next. The Ireland striker controlled with his right foot and, with unerring ease, stroked the ball into the far corner with his left. In doing so, he became the first teenager to score ten or more Premier League goals in a calendar year since Wayne Rooney in 2005.
Fulham’s best opening of the first half arrived when Alex Iwobi, preferred over Andreas Pereira in the No 10 role, robbed Lewis Dunk of possession and slipped the ball to Willian. The Brazilian’s delicious clip picked out the unmarked Bobby Dec inside the box, but the Fulham winger’s volley looped harmlessly over the crossbar.
Brighton entered this game having scored in their past 25 league games — going back to a 1-0 defeat by Fulham in February — but their wait for a clean sheet this season goes on.
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Fulham attacked the second half with renewed vigour, pressing high, forcing errors. Willian and Iwobi tested Jason Steele from distance. Then, just before the hour, Pereira, Rodrigo Muniz and Harry Wilson were introduced and, five minutes later, the latter played a key role in Fulham’s equaliser.
Iwobi snaffled possession 25 yards from Brighton’s goal and found Wilson, whose first-time pass picked out Palhinha just outside the box. The Portugal midfielder — on his 50th appearance for Fulham — curled a magnificent strike into the top corner.
Fulham could have won it. Robinson’s cross picked out Muniz six yards out, with his back to goal, but the Brazilian’s instinctive back-heel was palmed away brilliantly by Steele.
Brighton (3-4-2-1): J Steele 7 — A Webster 6, L Dunk 6, I Julio 6 — S Adingra 7 (J Veltman 71, 5), C Baleba 7 (F Buonanotte 71, 5), M Dahoud 7, (B Gilmour 71, 6), K Mitoma 7 — P Gross 7, A Lallana 6 (A Fati 58, 5) — E Ferguson 7 (J Pedro 78).
Fulham (4-2-3-1): B Leno 7 — T Castagne 6, C Bassey 6, T Ream 7, A Robinson 6 — H Reed 6 (A Pereira 58, 7) J Palhinha 8 — B De Cordova-Reid 7 (H Wilson 58, 8) A Iwobi 8 (S Lukic 90+2), Willian 6 (T Cairney 86) — R Jiménez 5 (R Muniz 58, 7). Booked Muniz, Wilson, Robinson.
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Referee M Salisbury.
Attendance 31,515.
