Brighton have never finished higher than sixth in English football’s top flight, but they now have 16 points from seven matches, with fan hopes rising that they could make a real push for Champions League qualification, or even a title challenge.
Their tally of 23 top-flight goals is four more than league leaders Manchester City, and more than double the 11 of reigning champions Arsenal.
Since the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League in 1992, only three sides have scored more goals across their first seven games of a season – Arsenal in 2009-10 (24), Manchester United in 2011-12 (24), and Manchester City in 2019-20 (27).
In the top five European leagues, only Barcelona, with 39 goals from nine La Liga matches, have more domestic league goals than Brighton.
With 10 different goalscorers, Brighton, third in the table, have also been the great entertainers of the season so far.
They won their opening league game 4-0 against an Aston Villa side that finished fourth in 2025-26, and Fabian Hurzeler’s team have shown that was not a one-off. Results since have included winning 5-0 at Coventry, 3-0 against Arsenal, 2-0 at Sunderland despite having a man sent off, and now 5-0 against rivals Palace.
In the Carabao Cup, they fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Old Trafford and eliminate Manchester United. In Europe, they have justified their position as Conference League favourites, putting four past both Norwegian side Tromso and Lithuanian champions Kauno Zalgiris.
For Hurzeler, the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history when he was appointed in June 2024 at the age of 31, the atmosphere at the Amex could not have been any more different to their previous match with Palace.
When the Eagles won 1-0 in February, Brighton were 14th, had only won one of 12 league games, and the home fans were chanting “you’re getting sacked in the morning” at their own boss.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Hurzeler is not getting carried away at his side’s good form.
He was quick to shut down any talk that Brighton could be involved in the Premier League title race and said: “We have to stay very humble. The season will be long.
“We have to keep going. We can’t be satisfied. We have to keep pushing, stay humble and understand why we are successful at the moment to keep pushing at that level.”