Albion’s latest magical European night will go down in club history and the reporters in the Amex press seats did full justice to the 1-0 victory over Marseille.
The mechanics of print journalism mean that a late winning goal requires frantic last-minute rewriting for the early editions, and the 8pm kick-off stretched deadlines to breaking point – but with such a good story to tell, nobody seemed to mind.
The Daily Telegraph put it succinctly: “Brighton’s record signing, Joao Pedro, continues to pay back his £30m fee with interest. Last night the Europa League’s top scorer, signed from Watford last summer, hit his sixth goal in this season’s competition to give the Seagulls top spot in Group B and a bye into the Round of 16 in March.
“Albion’s first European campaign was always going to continue into the knockout stages whatever last night’s result against Marseille, but this was another indication of how far Roberto De Zerbi’s side have come.
“’We haven’t won anything yet but we are really proud,’ De Zerbi said. ‘Marseille are used to playing in European competition but it is our first time and for us to finish top was a historic moment. We played with 12 players because the atmosphere tonight I have never seen. Now we play two games less and I hope we will have some injured players [back]’.”
The i reported that “Brighton’s European adventure continues to impress, and Joao Pedro, their record signing, continues to play a key part. Last night his 88th minute goal, his sixth in the competition, ensured that they finish top of Europa League Group B and progress directly to the Round of 16 in March, skipping February’s knockout round playoffs against teams that have dropped out of the Champions League.
“It also means that the Seagulls have beaten two former European champions after also winning at home and away to Ajax. Although some of their recent Premier League results have been disappointing, Europe has offered salvation. Where wins and clean sheets were hard to come by at home, they have achieved four victories and four shutouts against continental opposition.
“As well as the undoubted prestige of progressing as group winners, a bonus is that first place ensures two matchdays’ worth of respite from a fixture list made more gruelling by the extra demands of European competition, and a series of injuries that has denied them the services of a whole team’s worth of players at times.”
Isabelle Barker of The Sun noticed that “Joao Pedro jumped into the Amex stands to celebrate with fans as he fired Brighton into the last 16. The 22-year-old has played a major role in Brighton’s maiden European tour with six goals in the competition this season, making him the Europa League top scorer. He has already scored as many Europa League goals in six games this term as last season's joint-top goalscorers Marcus Rashford and Victor Boniface (six).
“Roberto De Zerbi also celebrated with the boisterous home fans having lobbed a water bottle to the floor in frustration just minutes earlier.
“Marseille only needed a draw to move straight into the round of 16, having gone into last night’s game a point above Brighton.
“The Seagulls now avoid a potentially tougher path in a play-off against a team to drop out of the Champions League, like AC Milan, Benfica, Feyenoord, Galatasaray, and Shakhtar Donetsk.
“You could tell De Zerbi meant business as he hurled off his snood scarf less than a minute into the game.”
Matt Barlow of The Daily Mail wrote that “Joao Pedro broke the French resistance with another flash of his natural predatory instinct and cut the Brighton fans free from a night of frustration.
“It was a sixth goal in six Europa League games for the Brazilian striker. He has really taken to this competition in style and so have Brighton.
“After a slow start, with one point from the first two games, Roberto De Zerbi’s team won four in a row without conceding to clinch top spot in Group B, bypassing the awkward play-off round against a Champions League drop-out in February to ease into the last 16 in March.
“They left it late against Marseille and they enjoyed elements of good fortune. The visitors, for whom a point was enough to top the group, sat deep and took few risks but threatened on the break.
“Twice they rattled the woodwork and they tested the patience of the home crowd as they rolled out a series of time-wasting antics.”
But it all came right in the end, as Alyson Rudd wrote in The Times: “João Pedro was almost swallowed up by the crowd as he celebrated what is in effect the completion of a European fairytale for the European debutants.
“The obduracy of Marseille meant Brighton & Hove Albion looked on course to be runners up in their group which would have meant entering the play-offs with two extra games they really could have done without. Instead, in the 88th minute the Brazil striker latched on to Pascal Gross’s astute pass and fired in past the otherwise excellent Pau López in the Marseille goal.”
Ed Aarons of The Guardian wrote that, “Having lost their first-ever European game against AEK Athens here back in September, qualifying as group winners represents quite a feat for a club that was playing in League One as recently as 2011.
“Brighton’s supporters can now plan the next stage of their great adventure with absolute relish after this famous victory that was celebrated long into the Sussex night, particularly by their delighted manager.
“Four successive victories including impressive away wins in Amsterdam and Athens culminating in this dramatic late win over the 1993 European champions proved they certainly belong at this level.
“Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra sparkled on the flanks but it needed João Pedro – the Brazilian signed from Watford in the summer for a club record £30m – to provide the winning moment two minutes before full-time with an assured finish. ‘These are the best moments of my life,’ he said afterwards – a sentiment that surely must be shared by many of Brighton’s fans.”