Will Simpson, writing with ISNTV
Embed from Getty ImagesFew seasons in Premier League history have seen such a tight race for a place in Europe next season. With just over a month to go, seven points separate the seven teams between
fourth and 10th.
Brighton, following their 3-0 drubbing by fellow European hunters Aston Villa, sit in the
middle of this pack at 8th.
The loss may have dented the Seagulls’ ambitions of a first-ever Champions League venture.
However, all forms of Europe remain on the table, as Premier League clubs eye a never-before-seen opportunity.
Embed from Getty ImagesFollowing the Champions League revamp from 32 to 36 teams, UEFA now grant two leagues
an extra qualification spot. This is determined by UEFA’s table of coefficients, a fancy way of
calculating how well a league’s clubs perform in Europe that season.
This season, Premier League clubs are performing particularly well – five are in European quarter-finals across the three UEFA competitions – which all but secures a fifth Champions League spot for an English club.
Brighton, pushing for their second ever European campaign, will be spurred by this
opportunity.
By merit of league position, only five Premier League clubs qualify for Europe. Two extra
spots are handed to the FA Cup winning team, who earn Europa League qualification, and the
League Cup winners, who earn Conference League qualification.
But, pending the fifth Champions League spot, and if League Cup winners Newcastle and
the FA Cup winners finish fifth or higher, Brighton could finish as low as 8th and still
make the Conference League.
So, with eight games left, it’s all to play for and Brighton can make Europe. That’s great.
But the Villa loss will sting.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler’s post-match words – the very few he said – were evident of
that.
Asked by the BBC if there was any hangover from the weekend’s FA Cup exit to Nottingham
Forest, Hurzeler replied: “No.”
Then asked if he got what he was looking for from his five changes to the starting line-up,
Hurzeler said: “Yes.”
An unsurprisingly blunt response after a 3-0 loss, but a surprising one considering the impact of those five players.
Lewis Dunk and Brajan Gruda came in for the injured duo of Adam Webster and Georginio Rutter. They weren’t poor fill-ins, but Gruda in particular struggled to make an impact as Rutter has done the number 10 role.
Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra and Diego Gomez were the other three players to return to the starting lineup. They all had chances to score, but didn’t.
Embed from Getty ImagesAdingra’s goal was disallowed due to Kaoru Mitoma’s handball in the build-up, and Gomez struck the post from a free kick.
There lies the difference between the two sides on the night. Where Brighton were blunt, Villa were cutthroat sharp.
“I think we created enough chances in the first half to win this game, so there were positive things,” Hurzeler said in his post-match press conference.
“If we would have scored the first goal, we might sit here with a completely different mood.
“Small margins make the difference, and we have to focus on doing the small things right.”
Embed from Getty ImagesAston Villa did those small things right.
Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford scored his first Premier League goal for Villa just 12 seconds after a Brighton corner, and substitutes Marcos Asensio and Donyell Malen finished similarly incisive attacks to secure the result.
Villa’s attacking quality and depth is up there with the best in the league. 15 goals in their last six games in all competitions reflects the selection problem that manager Unai Emery has, albeit a good problem to have.
“Not only the starting XI, but the players on the bench [need] to add their effort when the team is needing it. Today was a good example,” Emery said in his post-match press conference.
“To be in Europe is our objective but we want to try to get again the Champions League. We’re under this expectation, but with the points we achieved in Brentford and now in Brighton we are getting progressively better.”
The result leapfrogs Villa ahead of Brighton by one point, into 7th.
Unlike Emery, Hurzeler did not mention his European ambitions for Brighton following the defeat.
He did, however, answer whether the match on Saturday against bitter rivals Crystal Palace was the perfect match for a response.
“Yes.”
Two things are for sure. Brighton have it all to play for to make a European place, and Hurzeler would rather do his talking on the pitch.
