The Media Review: Wolves

Apologies in advance if some of today’s extracts from the Sunday paper reports are a little on the lengthy side, but fitting in descriptions of six Albion goals used up more column inches than usual!

Seriously, the reporters in the Amex press box enjoyed what they saw and relished their task in doing justice to sumptuous strikes from Denis Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck.

The usual recipients of star billing, such as Kaoru Mitoma, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, were mentioned only in incredulous asides about their benching.

Sam Dean, for example, wrote in The Sunday Telegraph that “if you asked a group of Brighton supporters to list the three best players in their team, many of them would give you the names of Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma. 

“It was a stunning reflection of the work that Roberto De Zerbi is doing on the south coast, then, that the Italian rested all three of those players here and Brighton still produced one of the finest attacking performances of any team this season.

“This thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were truly pathetic, was the product of everything that makes Brighton such a compelling club. This is what happens when you combine world-class recruitment with elite-level coaching and this is what it looks like when every player knows their role in one of the European game’s most slick and advanced tactical systems.

“The precision of the passing, the speed of the running, the movement in attack, the composure in defence: it was all there from Brighton, who had never before won a top-flight game by more than four goals. They finished the afternoon two points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, with two games in hand, and look increasingly well-positioned to qualify for European competition for the first time in their history. 

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“Such was De Zerbi’s complete control of the afternoon, it even felt like the seagulls overhead were drifting around under his precise instructions. The Brighton head coach has taken the work of Graham Potter and is building something extraordinary on the south coast, and there were times when the home fans did not seem able to believe what they were seeing.

“Remarkably, the scoreline does not even accurately reflect Brighton’s level of dominance. They finished with six goals but it really could have been more against a Wolves team that defended with all the rigidity of damp paper.”

In The Mail on Sunday, Matt Barlow wrote that “anyone thinking that Wembley heartache might destroy Brighton's spirit and tip them into a tailspin at the end of this brilliant campaign had better think again.

“Because after losing on penalties in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United, and following that with defeat at Nottingham Forest, they produced a thrilling exhibition of fast and fluent football in the Sussex spring sunshine.

“It was all too much for Wolverhampton Wanderers as Brighton's top-flight records tumbled, the biggest win, the most victories in a season and the best points tally. A first European adventure still beckons.

“There were two goals each for Pascal Gross, Danny Welbeck and Deniz Undav. It was four by half time and might have been more embarrassing for Wolves, who performed with the look of a team thinking 37 points would be plenty to avoid the drop.

“Undav struck early, pouncing to score from close range when Welbeck flicked Joel Veltman's low cross into his path. 

“There was a two-minute VAR check for offside but the German had his fourth goal in Brighton colours and his first in the Premier League.

“Gross scored the next two. The first completed an incisive passing move featuring Billy Gilmour and Julio Enciso, who carried the ball forward and picked out the scorer with a pass.

“The second even better, a swerving volley from the edge of the penalty area, fading beyond Jose Sa into the top corner after another burst of pace by Enciso, the teenage Paraguayan who scored the winner at Chelsea.

“The Wolves defending was simply awful and it got worse as Brighton made it four. No pressure on the ball in midfield as Gilmour sprayed a pass wide. No pressure again as Pervis Estupinian overlapped Enciso and delivered the cross. No surprise then to find no pressure at the back post where Welbeck had drifted away from Max Kilman and headed in.

“Another mistake at the back by the visitors presented him with the ball 20 yards from goal. Welbeck promptly shifted it onto his left foot and drove it into the net. If Wolves morale was not low enough, De Zerbi sent on his stars, Alexis Mac Allister, Moses Caicedo and Kaoru Mitoma.

“Undav's second came from a careless mistake in possession by Sa, who played Nunes into trouble. Mitoma closed him down and Undav pounced, beating the goalkeeper with a delectable chip from a tight angle.

“Gilmour clipped the post from 20 yards but Brighton coasted in after six. The quest for a European place is not over yet. They are two points behind fifth-placed Spurs with two games in hand and will have their eyes on revenge when Manchester United visit on Thursday.”

Jack Rosser proved that great minds think alike when he echoed The Mail’s intro in his report in The Sun on Sunday. “Thought Brighton were fading in their push for Europe? Think again,” he wrote. “Roberto De Zerbi rang the changes and watched the Seagulls run riot, smashing six past Wolves in their biggest-ever Premier League win to stay in hot pursuit of the top six.

“Brighton have always offered a warm welcome down on the south coast. They are kind and courteous to travelling fans, offering them a seat where they can bask in the sun by the sea. But, more often than not this season, the fun ends when the whistle goes. Your team is ripped apart and you’re sent packing with a bloody nose, no points and little idea as to how that just happened.

“This time Wolves were the victims and the pasting was delivered in unrelenting fashion thanks to braces from Deniz Undav, Danny Welbeck and Pascal Gross.

“De Zerbi surprisingly dropped Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo and Karou Mitoma as part of five changes. It more than worked.

“Undav was one of those to come in and wasted no time in making his mark. The striker tapped in after Joel Veltman’s low cross had skimmed an attempted backheel from Welbeck. Tony Harrington, the VAR, eventually gave the goal and Brighton were away.

“Victory here took them to 52 points, equalling a club record. But De Zerbi has no interest in equalling records, he wants to smash them. And this much-changed side shared his killer instinct.

“Billy Gilmour, superb on just his third Premier League start for the club, collected a sloppy pass from Matheus Nunes and quickly played in Julio Enciso, another gem mined from South America by Brighton. Enciso, just 19, drove forwards down the left and lifted a cross towards Gross who had slipped in behind a chaotic Wolves defence. He volleyed home a first-time effort to further dazzle Wolves, though that was nothing compared to his next strike.

“Brighton weren’t just doing the flashy stuff, Wolves were struggling to cope with their aggression off the ball too. Enciso, Gilmour and Undav were relentless in their press and winning the ball high up, with the Paraguayan causing all manner of issues.

“Julen Lopetegui had hailed Brighton as one of the best in the world but even he could not believe what he was seeing. Then again, some Seagulls fans were equally dumbstruck by what Gross offered up next. Enciso was causing trouble again, this time popping up on the edge of the area and lashing a low pass to the feet of Gross. The German’s first touch lifted the ball into the air and the second walloped it straight into the top corner.

“Wolves were offering few signs of life in response, so the Seagulls kept pushing. It was Welbeck this time, rising at the far post to nod home Pervis Estupinan’s cross and send scores of Wolves fans down for an early pint ahead of the break.

“Within three minutes of the restart, Lopetegui had his head in his hands after Welbeck made it five with a low curling effort. To add to Wolves’ gloom, De Zerbi then called for Mitoma, Caicedo and Mac Allister from the bench.

“But it was Undav who delivered the coup de grace after a shocker from Sa, the keeper rolling the ball short to Nunes, who wanted nothing to do with it. Mitoma and Undav stole the ball like it was a schoolboy’s lunch money before the Brighton striker lifted a superb lob over Sa.

“If Brighton have had a blip, it is well and truly over.”

Paul Rowan also referred to Lopetegui’s words of praise for Albion’s football in The Sunday Times. “The Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach was presumably talking about their first XI,” he wrote. “But Roberto De Zerbi’s second string showed that they too were worthy of superlatives. 

“The rout started after five minutes, when Joel Veltman played a low cross into the box that left the Wolves defenders flat-footed. Welbeck flicked the ball on and Undav scored from six yards for his first Premier League goal. 

“With the unprotected Nelson Semedo being torn apart by a combination of Julio Enciso and Solly March, a second goal was not long in coming. Enciso fed Gross, who swept the ball first time past Jose Sa. 

“Enciso again fed Gross, who this time decided to take a touch, flicking the ball up in the air before sending a dipping volley past Sa – a goal that was reminiscent, for older onlookers, of Glenn Hoddle.

“It was just a matter of Wolves trying to keep the score in single figures and they just about managed it. De Zerbi said afterwards that he thought Billy Gilmour was the best player on the pitch, but that honour should probably go to Undav, even if picking out one player from this outstanding performance feels unfair.”

In The Observer, Press Association man Ed Elliott reported that “Brighton ended a difficult week on a major high by emphatically reigniting their European push and making history with a 6-0 demolition of Wolves at the Amex Stadium.

Doubles from Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck helped the rampant hosts rip apart their opponents en route to registering their biggest Premier League success, with Roberto De Zerbi saying: ‘I think it’s the best performance in my career as a coach.’

“His side came into the game having suffered an agonising FA Cup semi-final loss before a defeat at Nottingham Forest. But the eighth-placed Seagulls stylishly set aside those setbacks to move on to a club-record 52 Premier League points – two behind Tottenham in fifth – with a spellbinding performance in the Sussex sunshine. 

“The manager had called for Brighton’s fans to be a 12th man after five successive games on the road. Fearing fatigue amid a hectic fixture list, the Italian made the drastic decision to begin with the influential trio of Moisés Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma on the bench. The surprising selection did not remain a talking point for long as the reshuffled Brighton, who made five changes in total, made a blistering start and led inside six minutes.

“The Wolves manager, Julen Lopetegui, this week claimed Brighton’s eye-catching style of play is the best in world football. But his lacklustre side were culpable of giving the swashbuckling hosts a major helping hand as Brighton’s rapid start swiftly turned into an unassailable advantage.

“Gross’s second of the afternoon – in the 26th minute – was a stunner. The German midfielder sprayed a pass wide to Enciso on the left and, after receiving the ball back, unleashed a dipping volley into the right corner after his first touch looped into the air.”

The Albion team selection was also a talking point on The Daily Star website, Kasra Moradi writing that “fans were left in awe after Brighton trounced Wolves 6-0 without starting several of their best players.

“Manager Roberto De Zerbi made the bold decision to rest regular starters such as Kaoru Mitoma, Alexis Mac Allister, Levi Colwill, Robert Sanchez and Moises Caicedo.

“As such, many would not have expected Brighton to be as dominant at the Amex as in previous matches. Yet they proved once again just how formidable they have become by completely annihilating Wolves.

“Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck dazzled, each scoring a brace as Brighton blitzed their opponents.

“Undav opened the scoring after just six minutes before Gross netted two in quick succession, the second being a sensational half-volley from distance. Welbeck scored a header before the break before netting one from the edge of the box on the 48th minute mark.

“And the best goal of the afternoon was reserved for Undav, who sublimely chipped Jose Sa to wrap things up.

“Their dominance without the likes of Mac Allister, Mitoma and Caicedo, believed to be the side's biggest stars and tipped to move on to bigger things in the summer, left fans stunned on social media.

“One Twitter user wrote: ‘That’s seriously impressive from Brighton after resting all the lads that everyone wants to buy’."

Matthew Howarth agreed on the BBC Sport website. “To say the Italian's selection paid off is an understatement. Brighton were able to carve Wolves open at will, forcing the visitors into errors and fashioning several opportunities to give themselves an even healthier cushion before the interval.

“Welbeck was denied by Sa one-on-one before a dreadful pass by the Portuguese goalkeeper was slammed over the bar by the Seagulls striker. Sa atoned for that error by keeping out Enciso's curling strike from the corner of the area, while Solly March blazed narrowly over the crossbar as Brighton maintained their relentless assault on the Wolves goal.

“Estupinan and Undav both had efforts blocked by Wolves defenders in the second half, while Gilmour was denied a first goal of the season when he struck the foot of the post.

“With games in hand on fellow European hopefuls Liverpool, Aston Villa and Spurs, Brighton are well-placed to secure continental football for the first time in the club's near-122-year history.”