Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross, and Danny Welbeck scored braces to help Brighton produce one of the most comprehensive football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Despite resting key players Kaoru Mitoma, Alexis Mac Allister, and Moises Caicedo, Roberto De Zerbi’s team defeated Manchester United at Wembley and Nottingham Forest in convincing fashion. Deniz Undav scored the first goal with his fresh legs, while Pascal Gross added the second and third goals with beautiful volleys that struck the top-right corner of the net. In the first period, Danny Welbeck added a fourth goal with a downward header, and three minutes after the half, he added a fifth goal with a curling shot from the edge of the box.
Undav then added his second and Brighton’s sixth goals. Wolves were fortunate not to have been defeated by more goals as manager Julen Lopetegui yelled at his players from the sidelines the entire time. Welbeck backheeled the ball into the path of his attack partner, Undav, who scored his first Premier League goal from close range in the sixth minute. A thorough VAR review determined the goal was onside. Gross saved his best for the third, blasting in a spectacular volley from 25 yards that hit the top corner. Gross had been brilliant throughout, and Julio Enciso had selflessly set him up to sweep home for Brighton’s second.
With their best opportunity of the half coming from a Matheus Nunes effort inside the box that Jason Steele did well to parry, Wolves seemed more at home on Brighton’s beach than at the Amex. Before the break, Welbeck’s downward header past Jose Sa made things much worse for the Wolves. Lopetegui was incensed and argued with several of his players when they approached the sideline during an injury break.
Welbeck scored three minutes into the second half to add to the score, and De Zerbi kept up his relentless pressure as Mitoma, Mac Allister, and Caicedo were all replaced. At halftime, Lopetegui made three adjustments, but they had little effect. The Wolves defense was still being worn thin when Undav added the sixth goal with a deft chip, but only after Max Kilman had been stripped of the ball inside his own area. While Brighton supporters chanted “Give them their money back” in reference to the traveling supporters who stuck around until the end, Pervis Estupinan and Billy Gilmour both came dangerously close to inflicting more harm on Wolves, who are eight points above the bottom three.
“Given that today is a terrible day for us, it is difficult to evaluate or analyze the game,” Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui said. “Two ambitions we must avoid are ones we suffered from very early. We had ten guys behind the ball in the first one, and we can do better. After the second goal, it is difficult for us because they have more confidence. We lose the ball. It’s crucial to not only perform well against this side but also avoid conceding two simple goals. We have had a really difficult day, but I, the coach, am responsible. We sincerely apologize to the supporters. We are in the midst of a conflict, therefore we must be prepared for the next encounter. We lost a battle today, but we didn’t lose the war. We must keep working towards achieving our goal.”
“The performance was the best of my coaching career. We scored six goals, but if we talk about the level of play, we are playing a very high level of football, which I’m used to witnessing,” Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi said. “We need to get acclimated to playing every team for 90 minutes without worrying too much about the outcome. If we are up 3-0, nothing in our mindset has changed, and we must continue to drive forward. For us, this is the most crucial phase. I only discuss mindset when I speak about it. We are going through a difficult time and have never played this many games before. Giving Mitoma, Mac Allister, and Caicedo one game to rest was the appropriate and proper course of action. Undav and Billy (Gilmour) got the chance to prove their worth and experience the same sense of importance as the typical first XI.”
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