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Are free-scoring Brighton genuine title contenders?
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- Are free-scoring Brighton genuine title contenders?
When Jack Hinshelwood unapologetically smashed home Brighton and Hove Albion's fifth goal of the game against bitter rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday , it completed a fourth straight Premier League win for the high-flying Seagulls - with an aggregate scoreline of 15-0.
Hinshelwood's volley from two yards out to wrap up a 5-0 victory was in stark contrast to his team-mate Diego Gomez's audacious effort from the halfway line that put Brighton two up in just the seventh minute of the A23 derby.
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Fabian Hurzeler's free-scoring side have arguably been the most entertaining top-flight team to watch this season, but they have backed up their attacking flair with a robust defence. No team has scored more and no team has conceded fewer goals.
After seven games, they sit third on 16 points behind reigning champions Arsenal and table-toppers Manchester City, who have a 100% record. But can the Seagulls maintain their momentum and mount a serious title challenge?
"Why not?"
That's the opinion of Match of the Day pundit Dion Dublin, who played in Manchester United's 1992-93 title-winning side. "Because what we've seen of them this season is just togetherness, harmony... the manager's making good decisions.
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"[Pascal] Gross is leading the line in regards to what goes on on the pitch and what is the right kind of way they want to play. And everybody's chipping in with goals. The look a very, very frightening team at the moment."
Brighton are the Premier League's leading goalscorers this season [Getty Images]
Life after Welbeck
In the summer of 2025, Brighton lost their top scorer Joao Pedro to Chelsea, and history repeated itself this year when the Blues lured veteran forward Danny Welbeck to Stamford Bridge.
Once again, however, the Seagulls' enviable data-led recruitment model, aided by club owner Tony Bloom's close links to Jamestown Analytics, appears to have found a promising replacement.
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Having been used primarily as a substitute last season, Greece striker Charalampos Kostoulas has been entrusted to spearhead the attack, and the 19-year-old has repaid the faith shown in him by Hurzeler with three league goals and two assists.
Only Lamine Yamal has more goal involvements among teenagers in Europe's top five leagues this season.
Kostoulas has a strong supporting cast including Hinshelwood, Yasin Ayari, Malick Yalcouye and Maxim de Cuyper, not to mention a rejuvenated Pascal Gross pulling the strings from a deeper position.
With 11 league scorers already - while also being the beneficiaries of three own goals - Hurzeler's men are sharing the load impressively. As well as being the division's top scorers, Brighton have had the most shots on target and sit second for xG, shots and big chances.
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In the top five European leagues, only Barcelona, with 39 goals from nine La Liga matches, have more domestic league goals than Brighton.
Equally as encouraging is how well they have coped defensively despite the loss of centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke and midfield anchorman Carlos Baleba. Luka Vuskovic looks to be a tremendous acquisition from Tottenham Hotspur, and he has helped the Seagulls, who remain unbeaten at home, record a league-high five clean sheets.
What does history tell us?
There are only seven previous instances of a team scoring 23 or more goals after seven games of a Premier League season. All bar one have gone on to finish in the top three, with Manchester City winning the title in 2011-12 and 2022-23.
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The outlier? Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United team of 1994-95, who faded and finished sixth. Comparisons have already been drawn between that side, dubbed 'The Entertainers', and the swagger of the current Brighton squad.
With that in mind, Alan Wares co-host of the Albion Roar podcast suggested that perhaps a Champions League place, rather than a full-blown title challenge, might be a more realistic aim.
"I think with the Premier League being seven games in and the other matches we've already played, I think the dream for us is sustainability. I wouldn't go for a target, just as high as possible," said Alan.
"The club is really wanting to qualify for Champions League at the end of the season but yes, we've made a good start - are we title contenders? It's way too early to consider that. I would say that, at the moment, is fantasy stuff. But every football fan's got to have their dream and our point is, why not?
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"If we can continue this, and that is the main point we've got to look at, if we can be sustainable in what we're doing and what we achieve, then yes. Why not? Go for the sky, see what happens."
With Conference League football to juggle, it seems improbable Brighton's squad can last the pace with the likes of Arsenal for the duration of the season. Leicester City, the last outsiders to lift the title, do provide some hope. They were eighth with 12 points after seven games of their memorable 2015-16 triumph.
The Manchester City question
There is a chance Brighton's final league position could be affected by matters off the pitch.
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Last month, an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period.
City are appealing against the verdict , meaning the severity and timing of any punishment - which could take the form of a points deduction - remain unknown.
Brighton have the chance to give City a fright when they travel to the Etihad on Halloween - one of four successive away games in all competitions - and the league table may well present a very different picture by the time November's international break comes around.
For now, Brighton are exactly where they deserve to be. And they're having great fun in the process.
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