Onwards and upwards go Brighton. Another victory to send them soaring into second place with only Arsenal above them.It is a lofty perch for the Seagulls and one more admirable when considering the depths from which they have risen.Homeless and penniless, on the brink of extinction at the end of the last century they are now daring to dream about the Champions League.To infinity and beyond. Why not? Fabian Hurzeler’s team have already beaten Arsenal and Manchester City without conceding this season.The only goals scored against them in the last six Premier League games came at Liverpool, where they lost 2-0 but were not outplayed.City’s season is mired in uncertainty, awaiting sentence for financial breaches and the other half of the traditional Big Six are so erratic there will likely be scope for interlopers when the prized European tickets are handed out in May.It is six months away but at this moment in time there are not four teams better than Fabian Hurzeler’s.Brighton appear fully formed. Delightfully fluent in attack. Creative with zip and imagination and different ways to score goals.There is a defined style of play. Solid at the back with enough sporting maturity to survive a test of needle, which this became against Brentford after the red card for Igor Thiago’s red card.[embedded content] Diego Gomez celebrated another memorable strike at the Amex Stadium after his halfway-line stunner in the 5-0 win over Crystal PalaceThe Bees already trailed to a screamer from the left boot of Diego Gomez and went further behind before half time when Pascal Gross converted a penalty awarded for a shirt pull by Keane Lewis-Potter on Luka Vuskovic. MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS Brighton (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen 6; Costinha 6, Dunk 6, Vuskovic 6, Boscagli 7; Gross 8, Andres 6 (Wieffer 46, ); Gomez 7 (Yalcoue 90+3), Ayari 7 (Hinshelwood 78), De Cuyper 7 (Minteh 82); Kostoulas 6 (Rutter 82)Subs not used: Steele, Hadjam, Kadioglu, SvobodaScorers: Gomez 15, Gross 42 (pen)Bookings: Andres, Boscagli, Wieffer, DunkManager: Fabian Hurzeler 7Brentford (4-3-3): Kelleher 6; Kayode 5, Ajer 6, Van den Berg 6 (Wilson 70), Lewis-Potter 5 (Diouf 59); Sangare 5 (Jensen 59), Janelt 5, Hickey 5 (Collins 46); Ouattara 4 (Yarmoliuk 46), Thiago 3, Schade 4Subs not used: Valdimarsson, Anthony, Damsgaard, SchusterBooked: Ajer, SchadeSent off: ThiagoManager: Keith Andrews 5Referee: Michael Oliver 6Attendance: 31,629 <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/sport/football/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->
Gross, the 35-year-old midfielder schemer who walloped his penalty into the top corner in emphatic fashion, embodies the confidence pulsing through this team and his goal closed the contest.The Bees assembled in the deep looking to minimise damage with an eye on a counterattack or a set piece and maybe hoping the officials would see fit to even it up at 10 against 10.It didn’t happen. Instead, Brighton controlled the ball. They have had more than 75 per cent of possession across 90 minutes and spent the second half probing around the fringes of the Brentford penalty area.They registered 20 shots in all but there would be no third goal. And nobody minded. They celebrated the victory and a return to the Amex Stadium after five away games in a row and more than 5,000 miles on the road.Every substitution made by Hurzeler came as a reminder of their strength and quality.Kaoru Mitoma, yet to feature this season, is expected back from injury soon after the international break.The Conference League is not proving a distraction to a squad of such depth and Hurzeler gave fans his permission to dream.’They should be always excited,’ said the Brighton boss. ‘That’s our job. They can dream. They can have high expectations, but these are things we can’t control. We played good game but always things we can do better.’Bees’ red mist…This was Brentford’s second defeat in this Premier League season and they had players sent off in both.’In both scenarios the opposition player has been the one to provoke the situation, antagonise our player and react towards our player in an aggressive way,’ fumed boss Keith Andrews, referring to Yehor Yarmoliuk’s red card against Liverpool, when the Bees finished the game with nine men.’We should do better, but the game is in a state now and a place I don’t particularly like. And we’ll have to have a look at that because it’s costing us.’Chema Andres fouled Thiago, fell to the ground and sprang up to confront the Brazilian, who tried to push him away but caught him with a forearm under the jaw. Igor Thiago’s yellow card was upgraded to red after a VAR interventionAndres collapsed for a second time. When Michael Oliver gave them a yellow card each it seemed fair, but VAR Stuart Attwell sent the referee to the pitch-side screens for a review.Oliver studied the slow-motion replays and upgraded it to a red card. Off went Thiago, smiling wryly and shaking his head, dismissed for standing his ground and being goaded into a reaction.He will miss games against Everton, Manchester United and Arsenal.Opinions of Oliver in the away end did not improve when he gave a penalty for a shirt pull by 5ft 7in Keane Lewis-Potter which somehow sent 6ft 4in Luka Vuskovic somersaulting to the turf.Luka’s flying…Vuskovic is already a favourite at the Amex Stadium and it is easy to forget he is only 19. He dominates in the air and reads the game like a seasoned central defender.And after ten games he is ten points better off than those he left behind at Tottenham.The Croatia international cannot be looking forward to yet another encounter with England. The two nations meet at Wembley on Thursday. England have put 11 past them in two games this year.