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English club Brighton and Hove Albion have created history. They have secured a place in the European Football for the very first time in their history. Tonight, the Seagulls defeated Southampton FC by a 3-1 margin at Falmer Stadium to ensure European Football. Today’s win moved Brighton to the 6th place with 61 points, meaning neither Tottenham Hotspur nor Aston Villa can overtake the Seagulls.
As it happened
Brighton welcomed Southampton tonight at Falmer Stadium. Since the start of the season, Brighton have stunned several big teams. They displayed a very well-organized football in recent games. Therefore, they were desperate to secure victory over Southampton FC tonight. Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi played his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
However, Southampton’s relegation have already been confirmed last week. But they had a decent fight against the Seagulls tonight. Both sides tried to take an early lead in this game. The first 20 minutes were relatively even for both parties. Anyway, the home team eventually took control of the match when their striker Evan Ferguson found the net in the 29th minute with the help of Mac Allister.
The teenager had a brilliant game tonight for Brighton with his clinical finishes. He completed his brace before the half-time whistle. In the 40th minute, Evan Ferguson doubled Brighton’s lead as he scored another brilliant goal from Mitoma’s assist. Therefore, the Seagulls went to the break with a comfortable two goals lead.
Coming back from the break, Southampton put the home team under pressure. They got an early goal in the second half. Midfielder Mohammad Elyououssi scored that goal in the 58th minute. It seemed the visitors could equalize, but Brighton didn’t risk their game. The home team secured the match when Pascal Gross scored a goal to make the scoreline 3-1. As a result, Brighton won the match and have secured European football for the very first time in their history. They can play either Europa League or Conference League next season.
Reaction
Brighton’s manager Roberto De Zerbi is extremely happy to secure European football for Brighton. He said, “It’s incredible, one of the best days in my career. I am really proud to be coach of these players and the club. We won together, and I am really proud.”
“They believed from the first moment that they deserved to qualify, we had a tough period, we lost a lot of players to injury but when you have something inside, you push to the end to your target,” the manager added.
