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This is why Brighton are so good
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- This is why Brighton are so good
Youngsters Chema Andres (right) and Luka Vuskovic have been integral to Brighton's impressive start to the season - Reuters/Tony O'Brien
It has been an extraordinary start to the season for Brighton and Hove Albion , who have defeated Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League and have thrilled supporters with their intense and inventive style of play.
After nine rounds of action, Fabian Hürzeler's side are third in the Premier League and are very much part of the race for the Champions League places. At this rate, they may even become involved in the title race .
Here, Telegraph Sport explains how Brighton have soared so high in the first few months of the campaign.
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More transfer market magic
The defining theme of Brighton's rise over the past decade has been their incredible work in the transfer market. Armed with extremely high-level data , courtesy of owner Tony Bloom, Brighton have regularly bought players for low prices, developed them at the club and then sold them for an enormous profit. Their talent identification has been arguably second to none in Europe.
That is not to say they only target hidden gems, though. This summer they spent a club-record £46m to buy Croatia defender Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham Hotspur, as Jan Paul van Hecke moved in the other direction. Vuskovic, 19, was hardly an unknown player: last season, he was one of the best performers in the Bundesliga, on loan at Hamburg. He has been exceptional at the Amex Stadium.
Another summer signing who has made an impressive impact is Spanish midfielder Chema Andrés. The 21-year-old, a product of the Real Madrid academy, joined from Stuttgart for a fee of around £15m and has allowed the club to quickly move on from Carlos Baleba, who was sold to Manchester United for £70m.
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Another youngster who has thrived this season is Charalampos Kostoulas, who has scored five goals in 12 appearances in all competitions. The 19-year-old Greek striker joined the club last year and appears to be going from strength to strength.
Paraguay international Diego Gómez has also enjoyed an excellent campaign so far. Only four players in the division have won more duels than the 23-year-old, who memorably scored from the halfway line against Crystal Palace.
All of these players are triumphs of Brighton's lauded recruitment model.
Senior figures show the way
Two of Brighton's most important players are goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and midfielder Pascal Gross. Both of them have excelled this season, starting all of Brighton's league games.
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Verbruggen is still only 24, but this is his fourth season at the club and he is unquestionably one of the senior figures of the side. The Dutchman has kept six clean sheets, the joint-most in the division, and his save percentage of 79 per cent is behind only Leeds United's James Trafford (81 per cent).
Pascal Gross, 35, sets the example to young Brighton players such as Charalampos Kostoulas, 19 - Getty Images/Mike Hewitt
Gross, meanwhile, is both the brain and the lungs of the team. Brighton re-signed the German from Borussia Dortmund in January and he is perhaps even more important now than he was in his previous seven-year spell with the club. Even at the age of 35, Gross remains a tireless runner. He has covered 107.4 kilometres this season, the most of any player in the division.
Ferocious pressing
Brighton's super-strength this season has been their superb out-of-possession work. They are the best pressing team in the Premier League, as evidenced by a truly sensational off-the-ball performance when they thrashed Arsenal in September.
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Hürzeler has built a system in which the team's hunger to regain possession is matched by their intelligence. Brighton sprint around the pitch with remarkable intensity but they do so in sync with each other, and all of their outfielders are aligned in their movements. "My players really trust each other on the pitch," Hürzeler said earlier this season.
In the Premier League this term, Brighton have generated a league-leading 97 high turnovers (in other words, winning possession in the opponent's third). They also have statistically the highest defensive line in the division, which allows them to remain compact when pressing in the opponent's half.
Bold attacking football
Under previous managers Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton became known for playing precise, possession-oriented passing football. They still like to dominate the ball (they average 58 per cent of possession) but they are also willing to attack quickly and aggressively. Under Hürzeler, the ball does not need to go back before it goes forward.
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Brighton have taken the most shots (116) of any team in the Premier League and have also scored the joint-most goals from fast breaks (three). So far this season they have completed 255 successful long passes, again the most of any side in the division. These long passes, especially those that travel across the field to the flanks, help them to stretch opposition defences.
With 24 goals in nine matches, Brighton are the Premier League's top scorers. This is a reflection of their quality, of course, but also of their attitude. Once they score, they usually keep going. This season they have scored five against Coventry City and Palace, four against Aston Villa and three against both Chelsea and Arsenal.
How far can they go?
The challenge for Brighton will be managing the fixture schedule. Their place in the Europa Conference League means they are locked into the dreaded Thursday-night slot until Christmas, at least. The European adventure is great fun for Brighton, who are regarded as favourites to win the competition, but it will not help them in the Premier League as the games pile up.
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Another note of caution, perhaps, is that their results this season have been slightly better than their underlying metrics would suggest. Expected goals (xG) is far from a perfect measure, but it is indicative of a team's attacking and defensive quality, and Brighton are massively overperforming in both directions.
In attack, they have scored 24 goals from an xG total of 17. In defence, they have conceded seven goals from an xG total of 13. On both measures, this is the biggest swing in the division.
Brighton hope to welcome Kaoru Mitoma, one of their key players, back from injury soon - PA/Mike Egerton
Brighton will take encouragement, though, from the fact that they have started the season so well despite having neither Yankuba Minteh nor Kaoru Mitoma available. Minteh and Mitoma are their best two wingers but both have been dealing with long-term injuries. Minteh made his first appearance of the season on Saturday but Mitoma is still a few weeks away from making a return. They could, if not should, become even better once those two players are available.
