With a hat-trick from Elijah Adebayo, Luton defeated Brighton 4-0 and avoided relegation. This was an incredible performance.
Adebayo and Chiedozie Ogbene gave Luton the lead after just two minutes, setting the tone for a thunderous evening that left Brighton stunned. Since Leicester scored two goals in the first two minutes against Derby in 1998, it was the fastest a club had gone up 2-0 in the Premier League.
Rob Edwards’ squad persisted in their harassing of the Seagulls, applying tremendous energy and strategic pressure. After converting a Ross Barkley ball for a 3-0 lead in the 42nd minute, Adebayo headed home to complete his hat trick in the 56th minute.
With a game in hand over the Toffees, the outcome moves the Hatters out of the relegation zone and above Everton in the Premier League standings.
Luton manager Rob Edwards said after the game:
“It was a good night for us, wasn’t it? It started with Locks going out and seeing the fans, who were able to show their love, support and appreciation for him and then we went and delivered a great performance. I’m really proud and it was a really great night for us.
“You try and start aggressively and on the front foot, but we got a great start with goals as well. I think that when you are going up against a top team – and Brighton are that – they are dangerous. We scored two in two minutes, so why can’t they?
“We’ve been punished quickly this year by other top teams, so it was important we kept our foot down and kept trying to do the right things. That was what was really impressive about us tonight – we were relentless.
“It’s good, but it’s still only three points. It’s good for our confidence and our belief. I think we played well and I think we’ve played well for a long time now – and I know tonight will get more headlines because of the result and who it’s against, I get that. Tonight we were just ruthless and maybe we could have been a bit more ruthless, so I was still jumping around at 4-0.”
Meanwhile Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi said:
“It’s difficult to explain. We are all responsible for this defeat. It’s very tough to accept and to understand, but I think we can learn a lot from this day, this defeat, this game. We have to remember this, but in the same way, we have to forget. We are all responsible – me first of all.
“We didn’t play. It wasn’t that we played badly, we didn’t play. If you don’t play, it is difficult to explain. We lost the second ball, we lost duels, we didn’t play well. I think we have to remember where we started. We are Brighton, we are a good team, we have good players, we have been playing very well since last season, but we can’t forget to show our qualities.
“I don’t want to make any excuses because we have to play better. We have to fight – we must fight. We have to be able to accept the defeat and to be able to lose the game with dignity.”
On Joao Pedro’s injury: “I don’t know at the moment. It’s too early to say something more. We hope it’s not a bad injury because we need him.”
Brighton will hope their talisman can return as soon as possible as they host rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Meanwhile Luton head to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle on Saturday as well.
Other posts by Hiresh
