Practice makes perfect says Hurzeler amid Brighton´s scoring struggles

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler insisted that his side are working hard to end their struggles in front of goal ahead of facing Brentford in the Premier League on Friday.

The Seagulls were guilty of missing several chances in their 1-1 draw with West Ham last time out, with only six of their 12 efforts on target at the London Stadium.

Brighton have alternated between a draw (three) and defeat (two) in their last five Premier League games, dropping to 10th in the table after a strong start to the season.

Hurzeler’s side have scored more than one goal in just one of their last five top-flight fixtures, but have found the back of the net in their last 13 Premier League games.

While the Brighton boss was not panicked by his side’s situation in front of goal, he acknowledged it must improve moving forward if they are to challenge for European football.

“Not in an artificial way. We train a lot, we continue to train a lot. It is not a case of because we are not scoring a lot we train more,” Hurzeler said.

“We have experts for the strikers, experts for the defenders, so we try to improve the players with every training session.”

Our #FestiveFixtures continue on Friday! pic.twitter.com/UVQnEfgSVP

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) December 23, 2024

Up next for the Seagulls is a home match against Brentford, who saw their unbeaten record at the Gtech Community Stadium end at the hands of Nottingham Forest last time out.

The Bees have won fewer points away from home than any other Premier League side this season (one), while across 2024 as a whole, only Everton (10) have fewer points than Thomas Frank’s side (11, excluding promoted and relegated sides).

Brighton are unbeaten in all three of their Premier League home games against Brentford (W2 D1), having lost two of their last three against them at home before their promotion.

And while history favours his side heading into the contest, Hurzeler said he would not underestimate Friday’s opponents despite their poor form on the road this season.

“We prepare like any other game. I am not a fan of statistics like that. They don’t give you any guarantee to win the game,” Hurzeler said.

“We see this as an opportunity to get out of this circle of bad experiences. We need to try to play with more intensity and give the supporters a present.”