Fabian Hurzeler was firm when asked if physicality was a factor in Brighton & Hove Albion’s 3-1 defeat against Newcastle United.
“No,” replied the head coach. “When you’re smaller than the other team in height, you have to make sure you use your body in a good way. We are not known as a physical team, but we can still be intense and aggressive.”
It echoed Hurzeler’s explanation pre-match about bringing in an MMA fighter to help Brighton with their set pieces. “We don’t want to be beaten easily when we face taller teams,” he said. “There are always ways you can defend and attack in these one-on-one duels. This is why we’re trying to use different techniques.”
Newcastle, whose bread and butter under Eddie Howe has been their energy and aggression, pushed Brighton beyond their physical limits at St James’ Park. The visitors won just 31 per cent of their aerial duels and 38 per cent of their total duels, both the second-worst marks in the league across Hurzeler’s time in charge.
It highlighted the problems he wants to solve. Brighton had given Newcastle all kinds of trouble thanks to the squad’s merits, which could be amplified if they adapted to the Premier League’s increasing physicality.
The height in Newcastle’s line-up paid early dividends through Will Osula and Dan Burn headers inside 25 minutes, putting the hosts 2-0 up.
Bart Verbruggen’s poor attempt to sweep up behind his defence from a Bruno Guimaraes long pass saw him catch Jacob Murphy’s trailing leg. While Brighton paused momentarily, anticipating a whistle, Murphy got back to his feet and crossed for Osula to head unchallenged into a free net.
It was Verbruggen’s fourth error leading to a goal this season, a league-high, and 11th since the 2023-24 season, four more than any other goalkeeper.
For Newcastle’s second, Pascal Gross simply lost the 6ft 7in (201cm) Burn, the tallest player on the pitch, who sprinted from the far post to score easily.
Both goals flew in the face of Hurzeler’s pre-match comments. In the simplest terms, Verbruggen lost his duel against Murphy, no defender was near Osula to challenge him, and Gross lost out to Burn.
There were other instances, too.
Osula repeatedly got the better of his opposing centre-backs, most notably dummying Oliver Boscagli on the halfway line before sprinting into the box and shooting wide.
Jacob Murphy is challenged by Bart Verbruggen in the lead-up to the first goal (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Though he was giving up an inch in height, Joelinton won an aerial duel against the 6ft 2in Mats Wieffer while catching his face less than 10 minutes in, taunting the Brighton man to get back up. In the second half, the Newcastle midfielder seemed to rile Danny Welbeck after conceding a throw-in with a strong tackle. The brief exchange between the two ended with Joelinton smiling.
On multiple occasions, Brighton players were on the turf seconds before a set piece, but gained no sympathy from referee Chris Kavanagh.
When Gross, Kaoru Mitoma and Ferdi Kadioglu on the left tried to break through Newcastle in the first half, Murphy and right-back Lewis Miley stuck a foot in or shepherded the ball out of play. Yankuba Minteh, switched to the left wing after half-time, thrice ran past Miley only to dribble out of play or be cordoned off each time.
Each instance brought chest bumps and high fives from the Newcastle defenders, indicative of a team that prides itself on overpowering opponents.
What kept Brighton in the contest was their own identity.
No Premier League team has forced more high turnovers than their 4.3 per 90 this season. Moments after Burn’s goal, Brighton’s high press nearly paid dividends when a weak pass from Nick Pope ricocheted off Jack Hinshelwood’s foot and came back off the post. As the game went on, Newcastle struggled to play out from the back, opting for aimless long balls.
Outmuscled in the first half, Brighton reverted to focusing on better positioning to win second balls. Carlos Baleba, who regularly advanced in the opening 45 minutes, played a more reserved role, with and without the ball, in the second half, as seen below.
Brighton’s goal began from Baleba cushioning a pass to Gross from near the halfway line from a Pope kick. That was the first of a seven-pass sequence that spanned seven seconds and ended with Hinshelwood scoring.
Out-of-possession intensity and incisive creative play, with players seamlessly switching positions, have been Brighton’s biggest strengths in recent seasons. But when countered with physical and compact defending, they have struggled.
Brighton are already aware of the in-possession solutions that physicality offers, thanks to ball-carriers such as Georginio Rutter and Minteh before him.
Late on against Newcastle, Rutter beat two players on the left with a frightening burst of pace and set up Minteh, only for the 21-year-old to blast over an empty net. Minteh, who endured a frustrating afternoon on Tyneside, has averaged 5.3 take-ons per 90 (ninth-most in the league among players with 900 or more minutes) with a success rate of 47 per cent.
Joe Willock controls the ball under pressure from Carlos Baleba (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Brighton are crossing the ball more from open play (13.3 attempts per 90 minutes) and completing them at a better rate (24 per cent) than in any of their previous seven seasons. The early seeds for succeeding in a physical league have been planted.
“They play a style that is very difficult to play against at this moment,” Howe told reporters after the match. “They are fluid, want possession of the ball, and then the temptation is to stretch yourself and leave gaps.”
Adding physicality out of possession — through orthodox or unorthodox methods — will give Brighton a greater margin for error in this Premier League landscape and a platform for their in-possession qualities to shine.
