Hurzeler’s Brighton Sit Third After 15-0 Run as Dublin Asks ‘Why Not?’

• Brighton are third in the Premier League on 16 points after seven games, with four straight wins and an aggregate score of 15-0 across them.
• Match of the Day pundit Dion Dublin says “Why not?” when asked if Fabian Hurzeler’s side can chase the title, while a Brighton podcast host calls that “fantasy stuff”.
• Only seven teams have scored 23 or more goals after seven games of a Premier League season, and all but one finished in the top three.

Dublin Sees Togetherness and Harmony

Dion Dublin has no doubt Brighton belong in the title conversation. Asked whether Fabian Hurzeler’s free-scoring side can mount a serious challenge, the Match of the Day pundit, who played in Manchester United’s title-winning side of 1992-93, gave a two-word answer: “Why not?”

The question comes after a 5-0 win over Crystal Palace in the A23 derby on Sunday. Diego Gomez scored from the halfway line in the seventh minute, and Jack Hinshelwood poked in the fifth from close range with six minutes left. It was Brighton’s fourth straight league win, with an aggregate score of 15-0. They are third on 16 points behind reigning champions Arsenal and table-toppers Manchester City, who have a 100% record.

Dublin pointed to the mood in the squad. What he has seen this season, he said, is “just togetherness, harmony”, and he praised the manager: “the manager’s making good decisions.” He singled out Pascal Gross for leading the line in how the team plays, and said “everybody’s chipping in with goals”. His verdict was that Brighton look like “a very, very frightening team at the moment”.

Where the Goals Are Coming From

No team in the Premier League has scored more than Brighton and none has conceded fewer. They have had the most shots on target and sit second for expected goals, shots and big chances. In Europe’s top five leagues only Barcelona, with 39 goals from nine La Liga matches, have more domestic league goals.

The attack has survived the loss of another leading scorer. Brighton lost Joao Pedro to Chelsea in the summer of 2025, and Chelsea signed Danny Welbeck this year. The replacement is Charalampos Kostoulas, the 19-year-old Greece striker who was used mainly as a substitute last season. Hurzeler has given him the lead role and he has three league goals and two assists. Among teenagers in Europe’s top five leagues, only Lamine Yamal has more goal involvements.

Eleven players have scored in the league already, and Brighton have also benefited from three own goals. Hinshelwood, Yasin Ayari, Malick Yalcouye and Maxim de Cuyper support Kostoulas, with Gross pulling the strings from a deeper position. BBC Sport credits the club’s data-led recruitment model, aided by owner Tony Bloom’s links to Jamestown Analytics, for finding another promising forward.

The defence has held up as well. Brighton have lost centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke and midfielder Carlos Baleba, yet they are unbeaten at home and have a league-high five clean sheets. Luka Vuskovic, signed from Tottenham Hotspur, looks to be a tremendous acquisition, according to BBC Sport.

What History Says About Fast Starters

BBC Sport looked at the record books. There have been only seven previous instances of a team scoring 23 or more goals after seven games of a Premier League season. All but one went on to finish in the top three, and Manchester City won the title in 2011-12 and 2022-23.

The exception was Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United of 1994-95, known as The Entertainers, who faded and finished sixth. Comparisons with that side have already begun. Leicester City, the last outsiders to lift the title, offer some hope: they were sixth with 12 points after seven games of their 2015-16 triumph.

A Supporter’s Reality Check

Alan Wares, co-host of the Albion Roar podcast, is more cautious than Dublin. He thinks a Champions League place is a more realistic target. “The dream for us is sustainability,” he said. “I wouldn’t go for a target, just as high as possible.” On the title, he called it “way too early” and said it is “fantasy stuff” at the moment.

He still left room for hope. “Every football fan’s got to have their dream and our point is, why not?” he said. “If we can be sustainable in what we’re doing and what we achieve, then yes. Why not? Go for the sky, see what happens.”

The Manchester City Question

Brighton’s final position could be affected by events off the pitch. An independent commission last month found Manchester City guilty of all charges linked to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period. City are appealing, so the severity and timing of any punishment, which could be a points deduction, remain unknown.

Brighton have the chance to test City at the Etihad on Halloween, one of four successive away games in all competitions. They also have Conference League football to juggle, which BBC Sport says makes it improbable that they can keep pace with Arsenal for the whole season. For now, the BBC’s verdict is that Brighton are exactly where they deserve to be.