Despite Brighton's high-flying start to the season, I worried about what would happen when faced with a truly great counter-attacking side, given the space out wide in their shape. Well, in came West Ham United, one of the best counter-attacking teams in the world. Here is Game of Numbers #26, starting with how West Ham perfectly exploited Brighton's greatest weakness.
Crucially for his role as a 'Wing-Back', Pervis Estupiñán is one of the best crossers of the ball in the division. That has translated in over 3 crosses and 1.6 key passes per 90 in league play. It's the awareness of when to keep the ball on the grass or when to raise the ball in the air that comes as such an underrated skill, and one that often allows the Ecuadorian to set his teammates up for a real chance of scoring.
Since taking charge of Brighton in late September, Roberto De Zerbi has picked up right where Graham Potter left off, continuing the team's excellence in and out of possession. The results haven't always followed despite all the positives in their performance, but De Zerbi seems to have found solidity now, with the Seagulls currently sitting in seventh place. Here is our tactical analysis of De Zerbi's Brighton so far in 2022-23, and whether or not the Italian can lead them toward European football this season.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has officially kicked off, with Ecuador rocking Qatar's world and walking to a 2-0 win. Boasting 53% of the possession and outclassing the hosts every step of the way, Ecuador were utterly dominant from start to finish, against the shaky Qatar defense that looked perplexed and out of solutions in handling the energy from Gustavo Alfaro's men. Here is our analysis of the opening match to this 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and how Ecuador easily beat the tournament hosts.
Let's get one thing straight: Brighton have been outstanding to start the campaign, currently sitting in fourth place on four wins from six, whilst putting their concerns in front of goal to rest. Potter has been instrumental to the process, even establishing a sense of consistency in tactics, system of play, and personnel for the first time. So with that, we bring you our final analysis of Graham Potter's Brighton, covering the 2022-23 season.
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