Brighton’s encouraging start to the season continued at the Stadium of Light, where they scored through Maxim De Cuyper and Jaouen Hadjam. It was Hadjam’s finish, lashed beyond the reach of Robin Roefs, that emptied the ground: Sunderland supporters headed for the exits amid a smattering of boos, while frown lines creased the forehead of the home manager, Régis Le Bris.
Brighton had to manage the closing stages a man light after Pascal Struijk’s second-half red card, but Fabian Hürzeler’s players were undaunted by the dismissal. The win did not merely cement their hold on third place; it lifted their points tally for the campaign to 13.
The performance was not quite as fluent as Brighton’s 3-0 deconstruction of Arsenal before the international break, but on this evidence few sides will underestimate Hürzeler’s team. As the Brighton players and their manager prepared to celebrate, the contrast with the home dugout was stark.
Sunderland remain stuck on four points, with only one Premier League victory to their name this season. Le Bris’s side now head into Thursday night’s Europa League meeting with Torreense in introspective mode, seeking a response to a league campaign that has yet to gather any momentum.