Diego Gómez's early strike and Pascal Groß's penalty gave Brighton a 2-0 win over ten-man Brentford at the Amex — a result that keeps the Seagulls flying high in the early Premier League title race.
Gómez opened the scoring in the 15th minute with what The Times called another beauty, and Brighton never looked back. Brentford's afternoon unravelled midway through the first half when Igor Thiago was sent off in the 23rd minute, and Groß doubled the lead from the penalty spot three minutes before the break. Sky Sports recorded Gómez's 15th-minute strike and Groß's 42nd-minute penalty as the only goals of the game, with Thiago's dismissal the other defining moment of the afternoon.
Gómez sets the tone
The opener was worth the wait for a home crowd that has grown used to fast starts this season. Gómez, the Paraguayan midfielder, found the net early to settle any nerves, and from that moment Brighton played with the freedom of a side full of belief. The Seagulls have been on an absolute high early in the 2026/27 campaign after a flying start, and this was another afternoon when their confidence showed in the way they moved the ball and hunted in packs.
Brentford, to their credit, tried to stay in the contest, but the game turned decisively against them before the half-hour mark. Thiago's red card left the visitors a man short and chasing the game, and Brighton were ruthless in exploiting the space that opened up.
Thiago sees red and Groß doubles the lead
The dismissal changed the shape of the match. With Brentford down to ten, Brighton pushed higher, moved the ball quicker and asked more questions of a defence that was suddenly stretched. The pressure told before half-time when Groß stepped up from twelve yards and converted the penalty to make it 2-0, as The Times live blog recorded.
It was the perfect way to go into the break: two goals up, a man up, and a crowd sensing another three points. For Brentford, the interval was about damage limitation and reorganisation, with the game already slipping away from them.
Seagulls see it out
The second half brought no further goals, and that suited Brighton just fine. Fabian Hürzeler's side managed the game professionally, keeping Brentford at arm's length and refusing to give the ten men any route back into it. There was no late drama, no nervy finish — just a controlled, mature performance from a team that knows how to close out a game it has already won.
That control is the mark of how far this Brighton side has come. Earlier in their rise, afternoons like this could drift; now they are banked, efficiently and without fuss. The Seagulls are also juggling a European campaign alongside the league, and the squad depth that has carried them through those midweek nights — including the win at Getafe in the Conference League — is showing its value on Sundays too.
So what: Brighton are staying in the race
The three points take Brighton to 22 points from ten games, and they went into the weekend third in the table on 19 points from nine. Jamie Redknapp had already named them as Arsenal's only title rivals this season, and every week they keep winning, that claim looks less like a hot take and more like a fair reading of the table. Redknapp's verdict was that nobody else is keeping pace with the leaders — and Brighton keep proving him right.
For Brentford, this was a day to forget quickly. A red card inside 25 minutes and a penalty conceded before half-time is a brutal combination away from home, and once the game was gone there was little they could do about it. The international break now gives them two weeks to reset before they try again.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This was Brighton at their most convincing — an early goal, a red card forced, a penalty taken, and then a second half played entirely on their terms. The Seagulls are not just winning; they are winning in a way that suggests they believe they belong at the top of this league. Brentford were beaten by the better team and by their own indiscipline, and there is no shame in that — but Brighton will not care about the circumstances. They care about the points, and they keep collecting them. Are Brighton genuine title contenders, or will the pack catch them after the break? Have your say in the comments.
