Experience pays off
Those back-to-back victories three months ago put Brighton fifth in the table, just three points shy of Manchester City in second. They earned only their second win in 14 attempts since then with a surprise but deserved win at in-form Brentford, doing so with their oldest starting XI since September 2023.
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who turned 33 on Thursday, seemingly put faith in the adage ‘with age comes wisdom’ in a bid to end Albion’s slump. Four players aged 34 or older formed the spine of a team with an average age of 28 years and 356 days, and Hurzeler admitted: “The only difference today was… we managed the key moments better. We had a lot of experienced players on the pitch who know how to do that.”
It’s a significant shift in approach from Hurzeler. The average age of the team across 2025-26 has been considerably lower at 26 years and four days, while last season’s average of 25 years and 100 days was the second youngest in the division, behind Chelsea.
Welbeck nears career milestone
One of Brighton’s most experienced players, Danny Welbeck, scored his first league goal of 2026 to double the team’s lead at Brentford.
The 35-year-old now has nine Premier League goals this campaign, one short of his career-best tally from last season. Little wonder both Hurzeler and the club want to keep Welbeck beyond the expiry of his contract this summer.