The Media Review: Dunk stunner and Verbruggen heroics the talking points

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Albion stunned the Sky Blues on their own turf on Sunday afternoon.

Nick Szczepanik

2026-09-14T09:45+01:00

Malick Yalcouye scored Albion's second of the game and enjoyed the post match celebrations. 📸 by James Boardman.

Praise for Albion’s performance in the 5-0 victory away to Coventry City flowed as freely as the goals in the Monday papers.

And even the locally-based reporters in the CBS Arena looking for positives in the Sky Blues’ display ended up heaping the plaudits on Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

According to Ross Heppenstall in The Daily Mail, “This was a stuffing by a free-scoring Brighton side who had five different players on the scoresheet and ran out easy winners.

“Brighton, typically, popped the ball around with a swagger early on but Coventry gradually steadied themselves and fashioned some decent opportunities.

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Albion stunned the Sky Blues with an emphatic 5-0 victory at the CBS Arena. Babis Kostoulas, Malick Yalcouye, Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk and Yasin Ayari were all on target at the CBS Arena. Club photographer James Boardman was in Coventry to capture all the action.

“Brighton's goalkeeper earned the player-of-the-match honours and his side hit Coventry with a vicious sucker-punch in the 39th minute. Kostoulas showed delightful skill to create the space to drive a low, right-foot shot past Carl Rushworth.

“Six minutes into the second half, Yalcouye raced behind a leaden-footed defence to coolly slot home the Seagulls' second. Awoniyi then saw red for elbowing Maxim De Cuyper and the game was already up but Gross added a third from the spot after Bobby Thomas felled Kostoulas. Remarkably, centre-half and captain Dunk scored with a stupendous 35-yard shot which flew into Rushworth's top corner before Ayari's neat curling effort late on.

“It remains early days, but Hurzeler's side appear set fair for another year of progress.

It was all too easy in the end but 13 goals from their opening four games makes them the Premier League's current top goalscorers.”

Ben Bloom of The Guardian wrote that “goals from Charalampos Kostoulas, Malick Yalcouyé, Lewis Dunk and Yasin Ayari were all moments of individual brilliance.

“The scoreline certainly lent weight to Fabian Hürzeler’s recent dismissal of Brighton’s supposed attacking concerns. His side have scored more goals and created more big chances than any other team in the Premier League this season.

“A moment of mastery from Kostoulas broke the deadlock on 35 minutes. When Olivier Boscagli’s cross was insufficiently cleared, the teenage Greece striker showed great poise to control an aerial ball with his foot, nod it between two defenders and then fire into the bottom corner for his first Premier League goal of the season.

“Then followed two minutes that instantly extinguished Coventry’s hopes. First came Brighton’s second goal, when Yalcouyé broke in behind the Coventry defence, and the Ivorian’s pace kept everyone at bay before he calmly slotted past Carl Rushworth. Moments later, the hosts were reduced to 10 men.

“Thomas’s challenge to bring down Kostoulas inside his own box was as clear a penalty as will be awarded as season, and Gross duly stuck the spot-kick into the bottom corner.

"By the time Dunk sealed the rout with the finest strike of his career, smashed into the top corner from 35 yards, the mass home exodus had already begun. It was an outrageous hit, which was followed in added time by yet another excellent finish from Ayari, curled from range into the bottom corner.”

The Daily Telegraph’s online report pointed out that “Both teams had their share of chances in an entertaining first period which featured 21 shots – the most in any first half of a Premier League game this season.

“But it was Charalampos Kostoulas who made his effort count when he put the away side in front with his first league goal since January to give Brighton a half-time lead.

Special FT scenes! 😍 pic.twitter.com/gUAKEqIymM
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@BHAFC) September 13, 2026

“Coventry’s afternoon went from bad to worse within nine minutes of the second period as Malick Yalcouye doubled Brighton’s lead before Awoniyi was red-carded.

“Brighton capitalised on the player advantage with three goals in the last 20 minutes. Pascal Gross converted a penalty, Lewis Dunk thumped home an effort from 25 yards and Yasin Ayari completed the rout.”

Joshua Hall of The Sun gave plenty of space to Bart Verbruggen’s first-half heroics. He wrote: “Sometimes a style of football can be to blame for a lack of attacking impetus, and that has been the case in some of Coventry’s opening clashes.

“But in the first half of this game, Lampard was able to point the blame at one man for denying Coventry a first Premier League goal since 2001 – Bart Verbruggen.

Albion very much had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping the score at 0-0 in the first half. 📸by James Boardman.

“The Brighton goalkeeper pulled off a simply sensational save to deny Jack Rudoni from close range. Rudoni perfectly sidefooted a cushioned volley towards the bottom corner after a lofted Jay DaSilva cross.

“The Cov captain’s effort looked like a certain goal before Verbruggen got down to the deck like a cat and parried it away. Coventry should have been 1-0 up and the number of home supporters standing with their hands on their heads told the story itself.

“Verbruggen was called into action once again moments later, this time tipping a venomous volley from Frank Onyeka over the bar. It was easily Coventry’s best phase of the game, but after getting overexcited about almost ending their goal drought, they found themselves a goal down.”

Ian Whittell took up the story in The Times: “Such are the fine margins at this level, however, that three minutes later, Gross headed a clearance back into the Coventry area, Kostoulas nodded past Ethan Pinnock, spun away from him and raced through to volley home,” he wrote.

Babis Kostoulas was felled for Albion's penalty at Coventry, which Pascal Gross confidently tucked away. 📸 by James Boardman.

“Lampard’s defenders are finding the step up in quality difficult to handle and Brighton’s second goal, six minutes after the restart, summed that up. A long ball forward by Rushworth was cleared, touched on by Maxim De Cuyper and Yalcouyé headed the ball past Milan van Ewijk, sprinted away from Bobby Thomas and calmly beat the advancing Rushworth.

“Two minutes later Awoniyi needlessly and inexplicably elbowed [Maxim De Cuyper] as they competed for an aerial ball.

“Still, the defensive errors kept on coming, the next from Thomas, who clumsily tripped Kostoulas as he went for a 70th-minute cross, conceding a penalty that Gross converted with the minimum of fuss.

“The goal of the day was next, on 83 minutes, when Chema Andrés touched the ball to Dunk, who struck a stunning shot into the top corner from 30 yards. The reaction on the Brighton bench from Dunk’s team-mates was every bit as joyous as that from the away fans in the stand.”