Another success story? How Hurzeler has taken Brighton to next level

After Roberto de Zerbi’s departure, Fabian Hurzeler filled a significant opening at Amex Stadium, but the Seagulls are still leading in the Premier League.

Before Brighton next week’s clash with Aston Villa, another team vying for a Champions League spot, the 32-year-old has Brighton seventh in the table.

Albion will face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup quarter-finals, with a chance to advance to the last four at Wembley in mind.

Brighton’s successful transition to Hurzeler’s methods, whose own footballphilosophies aren’t all that different from his predecessor, has relied heavily on consistency, he revealed earlier this year.

Hurzeler, in addressing De Zerbi, said, “He brought this current energy to the players.”

Because they were aware of this, I don’t have to completely turn the players around.

With the arrival of the young German, he has followed a number of important tenets, including adding attackers and midfielders to the opposition’s last line of defense.

If you have more players in the last line, he continued, “You occupy your opponents more.”

Brighton’s bold move to occupying defenders makes them more aggressive and pin their opponents. The crosser has a number of options when their numbers are augmented inside the penalty area, and an attacking player is likely to make contact with one of them.

One of the two midfielders in Brighton’s 4-2-3-1 formation will push up to provide support in the box, and one of the wingers will move inward and join the attacking line. Matt O’Riley burst past Rico Lewis into the City box to score in their match-winning effort against Manchester City earlier this season.

Brighton’s underlying data from the previous campaign under De Zerbi suggested their play was most similar to Pep Guardiola’s City, but Hurzeler’s approach has changed that, with more directness being introduced.

Brighton spent 13.44 seconds last season, which was second highest during 2023-24), and now spends 10.47 seconds in possession sequences. Hurzeler wants them to move the ball more quickly and launch a powerful attack.

Brighton have an average speed of 1. 79 m/s, which is a significant improvement from their previous season of 1. 56 m/s, which placed them second in the division in terms of direct speed.

Brighton have a high ranking in the league in terms of pressing metrics per match due to their compactness against the ball:

In Jan Paul van Hecke, one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in the Premier League, has been mentioned by Hurzeler as a reminder of how important courage is from players who play their football.

The 24-year-old is a trustworthy defender, and he can quickly convert Brighton’s attackers into attacks.

Additionally, he has the most progressive carries in the league this year, averaging 10.34 per game.

The 21-year-old averages 6.53 possessions won per game, outperforming any other Brighton outfielder, who recovers possession from opposing attackers more frequently than any other player.

He leads his Seagulls teammate in terms of progressive carries, at 10.39 per match, because he encourages his team by breaking up play and advancing the ball further into the opposition half.

Baleba has become the Albion midfielder’s engine after struggling to get a spot under De Zerbi.