Post Match report for the Burnley game - Saturday, 3rd January 2026
PREMIER LEAGUE 25/26: Brighton V Burnley - 3/1/26 P20
* * * * * HAPPY NEW YEAR * * * * *
RESULT: 2-0 ~ Rutter Ayari . (h-t 1-0)
VENUE: the Amex, Falmer - tenth home match of 20 fixtures to date . Sat 3:00pm.
BEFORE KICKOFF: Brighton fans had celebrated New Year after two post-Boxing-Day away trips into greater London.
Now was an opportunity to wear blue & white Xmas gifts in a home environment for second half of this campaign.
WEATHER: cold . GATE: 31,373 . ATMOSPHERE: sing when you are winning.
FABIAN HURZELER did his arithmetic following nineteen Prem meetings and decided must-do-better should apply to future final sums.
He had failed to coach a win thru a second subsequent December and pondered his fate today against a side we had not beaten here in six previous attempts at elite level.
FH elected to ring changes and added a rare January window re-signed superhero to the bench.
SQUAD: 7 March 17 Baleba (Afcon) 38 McGill (gk) . IN: 30 Gross
INJURED: 11 Minteh 27 Wieffer . REHAB: 4 Webster 9 Tzimas
OOL: 3 Julio 16 Cashin 28 Ferguson 32 Sarmiento 33 ORiley 39 Rushworth (gk) 40 Buonanotte
STARTING SHAPE: 4-2-3-1
TEAM . . . . . . . . . 1 Verbruggen
. 34 Veltman 6 van Hecke 5 Dunk 24 Kadioglu
. . 8 Gruda 26 Ayari 25 Gomez 22 Mitoma
. . . . . 10 Rutter . . . 19 Kostoulas
SUBS: 18 Welbeck (71), 29 de Cuyper (71), 30 Gross (71), 20 Milner (80), 14 Watson (87)
BENCH: 23 Steele 13 Hinshelwood 21 Boscagli 42 Coppola
GOALS:
1-0 - 29 . RUTTER pops in a short deflected pass off Kostoulas following an attempt by Ayari.
2-0 - 47 . AYARI strikes an on target and sees it beat the keeper.
YELLOWS: none
CHANGES: 71 Welbeck, de Cuyper & Gross for Rutter, Mitoma & Kostoulas
80 Milner for Gomez . 87 Watson for Gruda
FIRST HALF: hosts dominate momentum and create chances.
Then score just inside half an hour.
SECOND HALF: Seagulls score another soon into the period.
Visitors mount a late rally when locals ease off the gas.
But the clean sheet is maintained.
IN THE END: a routine victory versus a club seriously struggling to meet standards of this league.
NUMBERS: poss 60%-40%, on target 4-3, off target 11-2, corners 4-4,
fouls 7-16, yellows 0-4, subs 5-4, shape 4231-541 . . . . . gd3 pt28 po8
FS
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