Football writers working for the national daily and Sunday papers on matches not involving two of the supposedly ‘big’ clubs are often forced, for reasons of space, to decide which of the two teams involved should get more column inches in their reports.
Saturday’s match at the Amex was a good example. And in the parlance of the football writing fraternity, it was ‘an Everton story’. Which is fair enough – the Toffees remain unbeaten under a new manager who was a controversial appointment and his bargain buy, Demarai Gray, scored again. In contrast, there was a sense of déjà vu about the Albion performance, which the relatively few words given to Graham Potter’s men reflected.
In The Observer, for example, Sam Dalling wrote that “Brighton endured a disappointing afternoon. After three wins, including cup success, Potter’s side appeared to have shaken the ‘look good, don’t win’ tag. But despite bright spells and dominating possession, a Pascal Gross free kick that wrong-footed Jordan Pickford was the closest they came. They did though meet supremely organised opposition.
“’Everton were a step up in quality,’ said Potter. ‘I didn’t think we were bad, we just weren’t that good. And when we are at that level, it is hard to take points against Premier League sides’.”
Former People man Tom Hopkinson, now writing for all four papers in the Reach PLC group, which include the Express, Mirror and Star, wrote that “for all Brighton’s pretty play, they simply weren’t clinical enough in the final third of the field — not the first time that has been said about Graham Potter’s men.
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“In Adam Lallana and Yves Bissouma, the Seagulls have two lovely midfielders. For now, anyway, as far as the latter is concerned. But Everton midfielder Allan ultimately overshadowed that pair with two beautifully-weighted passes in the build-up to each goal. Then up top, Brighton didn’t have anyone in their ranks who could finish with anything resembling the same composure as Gray. ‘We’ve made a decent start to the season but we’re disappointed here,’ Potter said.”
Paul Rowan of the Sunday Times thought that “Albion were predictable and played too much of the game in front of Everton, Solly March badly missed because of a slight hamstring injury.
“Brighton had been showing a meaner streak this season, turning more of their possession into goals, but this looked like a return to bad habits as good possession was continuously wasted.”
Tom Prentki, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, was one of the few who struck a positive note for the Albion: “There has been plenty of early season optimism in East Sussex which should not be extinguished by this result alone. There are positives for Graham Potter to take and Yves Bissouma showed once more why he is so indispensable to the Seagulls. But Everton proved a step up from Burnley and Watford who they’d beaten in the first two fixtures,”
The Irish Examiner claimed that “the Seagulls seemed to be targeting Ireland defender Seamus Coleman early on but if he was a weak link, they never exposed it. And by the 25-minute mark, Everton had their number and were picking off the attacks and launching dangerous raids of their own.”
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Tom Barclay of the Sun on Sunday seemed to agree. “Benitez will have been very happy with his side’s work as he outmanoeuvred opposite number Graham Potter in the tactical stakes.
“Brighton were riding high after three straight wins in league and cup this season and were boosted by Neal Maupay’s rapid recovery from a nasty shoulder injury.
“The hosts had the better of the opening 20 minutes, with Maupay blasting over and Alexis Mac Allister seeing a shot deflected off-target. But after that, it was all Everton. The Toffees fired a wicked warning shot through Andros Townsend - who was booed throughout for his Crystal Palace past - that Robert Sanchez pushed wide.
A flurry of half-chances for the visitors saw the hosts emerge unscathed - until Gray took centre stage. The former Birmingham man turned on the afterburners down the left, racing past poor Adam Webster and finding the corner with a fine drilled finish.
Lewis Steele of the Mail on Sunday took up the tale, writing that: “Graham Potter made a tactical change at half-time, sacrificing Alexis Mac Allister and switching to a 4-4-2 which saw Brighton come out with much more attacking intent and urgency.
“Substitute Joel Veltman played a give-and-go down the left with Neal Maupay but the striker slipped as he lined up a shot, before Pascal Gross forced Jordan Pickford into action with a venomous free-kick. Veltman also fired a shot over and looked extremely lively going forward. It’s a shame he was half-asleep to do his actual job of defending, then.
“The Dutchman was caught on his heels as Allan precisely slotted Coleman in behind with a defence-splitting pass in between full-back Veltman and Lewis Dunk.
“The Irishman took a touch into the area and invited a tackle from Veltman, who bundled him over. Coleman went down a little easily but there were no complaints as Jonathan Moss pointed to the spot.”
Matt Gault summed up the afternoon on the BBC Sport website: “This was a disappointing setback for Brighton, who failed to click in attack.
“The hosts managed only three shots on target, and while Leandro Trossard and Yves Bissouma looked sharp at times, Jordan Pickford was largely untroubled in the Everton goal, with Neal Maupay well-marshalled by the away side's defence.
“The French striker had hoped to become the first player to score in each of Brighton's first three league games in a single campaign since Nicky Forster in 2008-09 but was unable to create a clear-cut chance up against a solid Everton defence. After such a smooth start to the campaign, there will be plenty to ponder for Brighton boss Graham Potter.”