Why Brighton’s Late Goals Make Them the Premier League’s Strongest Finishers

After 88 minutes of Sunday’s home game with West Ham, Brighton were losing 1-0 and had not registered a single shot on target.

By full-time, Brighton had recorded four shots on target and earned a point thanks to a stoppage-time strike by Georginio Rutter.

Brighton’s impressive late show in Sunday’s game means they now have the best record in this season’s Premier League when it comes to how they finish games.

Only counting goals scored after the 76th minute, Brighton have won six of their 15 Premier League games and lost only two.

Liverpool — who scored late winners in each of their first four Premier League matches this season — would also have six wins and two defeats if games started on 76 minutes. However, Brighton have a superior goal difference.

Top of the Premier League table from 76 mins to full time (after 15 rounds of fixtures)

Why do Brighton finish games so strongly?

Brighton — who were the fourth lowest spenders in a summer transfer window that saw Premier League clubs splash over £3 billion — are one of the fittest teams in the English top flight and also one of the youngest. The average age of a Brighton player this season has been 24.9, with only Sunderland (24.8), Tottenham (24.7) and Chelsea (23.3) fielding younger teams.

Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler is also one of the most successful Premier League managers when it comes to making substitutions.

Thirteen of the 70 substitutes brought on by Hurzeler across Brighton’s opening 15 games have either scored or assisted a goal following their introduction.

Which Premier League manager makes the most impactful subs?

Do Brighton need to start games better?

Brighton finishing games better than all of their Premier League rivals is great, but in the overall Premier League table they are only seventh.

Seventh is no mean feat for Brighton, whose best-ever top-flight finish was sixth in the 2022/23 season. But there is a feeling that if they can start games a little stronger then they could climb even further.

If Premier League games finished at half-time then Brighton would be way down in 16th, with four wins, four draws and seven defeats.

Bottom of the Premier League table if games ended at half-time

Brighton’s conundrum is not unique to them. Similarly, Tottenham play so much better after half-time. Both Brighton boss Hurzeler and Spurs manager Thomas Frank are incredibly thoughtful tacticians who like to react to what their opponents are doing — or what they anticipate them doing.

While this can be very effective, it can have some side effects. Teams coached by highly tactical, reactive managers are not always singing from the same hymn sheet with as much confidence and cohesion early on.

Instead of charging out of the blocks and attacking in familiar patterns, such teams can take a while to get into games as their managers plot their next move.

But while Brighton’s slow starts will be a cause for concern for Hurzeler, it is hard to criticise the overall performance of his team when they sit just two points off a potential Champions League place.