Cast your minds back five weeks and there was a real possibility the Albion could have been sucked into the relegation battle. Horrible football and a horrible run of results culminated in a horrible afternoon against Crystal Palace. Yet after Sunderland 0-1 Brighton, the Seagulls have soared onto the magic 40 point mark.
Barring a quite incredible (or horrible) collapse over what remains of the 2025-26 season, the Albion are safe from the drop. Another campaign of Premier League football awaits.
Rather than potential trips to Lincoln City, Stevenage or Stockport County. Depending on which of those three clubs finds themselves promoted from League One.
Fair play to Fabian Hurzeler and the players for steadying a ship which appeared to be sinking at an alarming rate. Since the 2-0 win at Brentford, Hurzeler has gone back to basics by prioritising experience in the starting XI and introducing a more direct style.
It might not be for the purists. But it works. And it is to his credit that he shows such adaptability to approach in a day and age where managers can become wedded to a philosophy. Even when they clearly do not have the players to successfully carry it out. Hello, Sami Hyypia.
Stadium of Light proves one of best away days of the season
This was the first time Brighton had visited the Stadium of Light in 22 years. Meaning many Albion supporters needed the tick for the 92.
2,450 Seagulls supporters headed to the North East for what ended up being arguably the best away day of the season. A proper football city with a stadium full of character within walking distance of the town centre.
And nobody was stuck outside having run out of phone battery for their digital tickets with power banks banned from the away end. As far as we know.
It obviously helps that the sun shone and the final score was Sunderland 0-1 Brighton. Rewarding all those who made a weekend of it, set off at silly o’clock on Saturday morning… or even flew home via spending Sunday in Wroclaw, Poland from Newcastle to Luton because it was cheaper than a direct train. The things people do for the Albion, eh?
But it also goes to show why promotion is so important to English football. And why the Premier League should never be allowed to become a closed shop.
Either willingly by closing off relegation. Or unwittingly by making the financial disparity between the top division and the Championship so big it is only ever the same teams yo-yoing between the divisions.
Sunderland have been a breath of fresh air compared with Watford, Norwich or Sheffield United winning their fourth promotion after relegation.
Fingers crossed Coventry City and Middlesbrough return to the Premier League for 2026-27 after long absences. And Millwall winning the playoffs? Yes please.
Minteh decides Sunderland 0-1 Brighton with bizarre goal
The only goal of Sunderland 0-1 Brighton was bizarre. Yankuba Minteh made the cardinal sin of taking a corner which failed to beat the first man. Or ‘Doing a Dean Cox’ as it is better known.
Minteh though got away with it as he was given a second bite of the cherry when the ball was returned to him out wide. He cut inside and almost fell over, slicing his attempted cross towards goal. It somehow went in.
The Black Cats had two reasons to be aggrieved really. One was that Habib Diarra was lying on the ground after clashing with Lewis Dunk from the initial attempted corner delivery.
Jan Paul van Hecke was then stood blocking the view of Sunderland goalkeeper Melker Ellborg from a potential offside position. VAR though cleared both incidents and so the goal stood.
Sunderland were also denied a goal of their own by VAR when Chris Rigg saw his effort ruled out thanks to replays showing Omar Alderete marginally offside when heading the ball on during the build up.
Thank goodness for VAR!
There could have been more goals in Sunderland 0-1 Brighton
There were plenty of chances for both sides to add to the score line. Minteh had a fine afternoon on his first start of 2026, teeing up Jack Hinshelwood and Diego Gomez for opportunities either side of the only goal.
Hinshelwood was also wasteful when collecting a Danny Welbeck layoff. Dat Guy received a nice reception from Sunderland fans having spent a season on loan at the Stadium of Light at the beginning of his illustrious career.
At the other end, Lewis Dunk made a superb block on the line from Chemsdine Talbi. Bart Verbruggen was then forced into a sprawling save after Minteh kick started an interesting end to his afternoon by ballooning an attempted clearance directly up into the air above the Brighton box.
Minteh then got booked for an unnecessary push on Luke O’Nien. He fouled Trai Hume minutes later. Hurzeler had seen enough by that point and hauled Minteh before he was red carded with 15 minutes remaining, bringing to a close a magnificently entertaining afternoon from the winger.
Brighton were relatively comfortable through that final quarter hour as Sunderland ran out of ideas. Leaving the Seagulls as only the third visiting team to come away from the Stadium of Light with victory this season – and with Brighton eyes fixed firmly up the table.
The WAB Player Ratings are formulated using marks out of 10 given by Brighton fans via social media. To have your scores included, follow We Are Brighton on Twitter or We Are Brighton on Bluesky and look out for the player rating thread after each game.
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