João Pedro escapes red as Brighton’s winless run continues against Brentford
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When Brighton produced a stirring comeback to defeat Manchester City here at the start of November and move into the top four, Fabian Hürzeler could have been forgiven for thinking that being a Premier League manager is a pretty straightforward business. But after another disappointing performance from his side that made it six matches without a victory and allowed Brentford to pick up only their second away point of the season, the 31-year-old may have a different opinion now.
![[Mark Flekken receives medical attention during the Premier League match between Brighton and Brentford]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/df22159cb9267d7c57ba4996e130aa5a1444e39e/0_113_2894_1737/master/2894.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Despite creating a plethora of chances, Brighton could not find a way past Thomas Frank’s battling side, who lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken to injury in the first half and handed a Premier League debut to Hákon Valdimarsson. In the absence of their top scorer, Danny Welbeck, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, and for all their positivity and possession under Hürzeler, Brighton lack a cutting edge in attack that was exposed again by Brentford. They have not won at home since beating City and it was the travelling supporters who finally had something to celebrate at the final whistle.
![[Yoane Wissa puts the ball in the back of the net but later has his goal disallowed during the Premier League match between Brighton and Brentford]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7c321e099e030198fc2e899b352d8d929cc2d322/0_118_3893_2335/master/3893.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Brighton announced plans this week to move away supporters in an attempt to boost their fortunes here, with Russ Wood – the club’s head of commercial – admitting that their prominent position behind the goal is “not ideal”. But with that not due to take place until 2027 as part of a £40m development of their home, Hürzeler has acknowledged that performances need to improve quickly in the short term after their slide down the table.
