As a way of drawing a line under the sobering 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, Fabian Hurzeler burnt Brighton’s tactical plans for the match in front of his players.
Using a cigarette lighter, he cremated the paperwork at the training ground on Monday morning, 48 hours after the club’s heaviest-ever Premier League defeat. He wanted to focus minds quickly on the challenge of hosting Chelsea in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The recovery strategy did not stop there. He also held one-on-one discussions with some squad members in the build-up to last night’s 2-1 win at the Amex Stadium, including Dutch right-back Joel Veltman who, at 33 years of age, is two years older than his head coach.
“He talked with some players about the best way to bounce back, with the more experienced players and also with some young lads,” Veltman tells The Athletic. “I think he did well. Sometimes the gaffer makes his own decisions, but he wants to feel the situation in the room and that is what makes him a really good gaffer. He has a sense of what is going on in the dressing room.
“He is always hammering on about intensity, running back, running forward as well when the attackers have the ball. Sometimes you need a result like that (at Forest), a kind of reminder. You don’t want it, but that result could be a positive thing as well.”
The top priority for Hurzeler was for his side to produce a performance to put the Forest display behind them. A victory against one of the top teams in the country can never be guaranteed — there are too many variables for that — and Chelsea’s visit, which they will repeat on Friday in the Premier League, was a tough examination. But Hurzeler ended up with the ideal scenario — a vigorous display and a rousing victory.
Hurzeler had private talks with some players (Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)
As shocking as the scoreline was at Forest — Brighton’s worst defeat in any division since losing 9-0 at Middlesbrough in the second tier in August 1958 — it was not an outlier in the club’s Premier League era which stretches to eight successive seasons. They lost 5-0 at home to Bournemouth under Chris Hughton in 2019. They were beaten by the same score when Manchester City visited the Amex Stadium in 2020 when Graham Potter was in charge, while they were hammered 6-1 at Aston Villa in 2023 under Hurzeler’s predecessor Roberto De Zerbi.
Their longevity in the top flight, coupled with De Zerbi steering them into Europe for the first time by finishing in sixth place in his first season in 2022-23, has raised expectations among supporters. The mauling at Forest felt worse because of inconsistent results and performances so far under Hurzeler, which have left them tenth in the table, struggling to stay in touch with the ambition of qualifying for Europe again.
Hurzeler invited stinging criticism at Forest for the way he replaced both central midfielders, Carlos Baleba and Yasin Ayari, who were missing because of minor muscular injuries. Jack Hinshelwood, on his first start since November after knee damage, was left exposed by Georginio Rutter, who prefers to operate further forward, as the No 10.
Having Baleba back against Chelsea was a boost, enabling Rutter to revert to familiar territory. Joao Pedro, patchy in recent performances, made way in the only change from the Forest starting line-up.
Enduring frailties in confidence levels were tested by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen shovelling a volleyed cross from Cole Palmer into his own net at the near post just five minutes into the contest. Hurzeler’s team unravelled at Forest after conceding a soft goal early on. This time, spearheaded by Rutter, they rose to the challenge.
How has it gone in!? 😱
Cole Palmer’s volleyed cross finds its way into the back of the net for @ChelseaFC 🔵#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/bEQ8DlTV8m
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 8, 2025
The club’s £40million record signing from Leeds United last summer has been an irregular starter recently. That has been due to niggling injury issues, rather than a reflection of the quality of his contributions. The Frenchman brings the intensity Hurzeler demands with physicality in and out of possession. He mixes it with power and skill to run past opponents.
It was important to react rapidly to falling behind. Otherwise, there was the potential for the crowd to become restless. Brighton’s home record has been poor so far this season, with just three wins from 11 in the league. Chelsea’s lead lasted seven minutes. Rutter’s firm header from Veltman’s right-wing cross stretched a rich vein of form to five goals across his last six appearances.
Georginio Rutter with a perfectly placed header for @OfficialBHAFC 🔵⚪️#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/awqBRNts61
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 8, 2025
Rutter’s influence had more legs. He showed he has a deft touch as well with the pass for Kaoru Mitoma’s 57th-minute winner. Mitoma controlled it cleverly with his head before applying the finishing touch on his first home appearance since Brighton rejected bids of £54million and £61million from Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in the winter transfer window with the blessing of the Japanese left winger.
The FA Cup could provide an alternative route back to Europe for Brighton (the winners of the competition qualify automatically). The way the team trained and played in part one of the double-header with Chelsea has set a standard Hurzeler will demand is maintained. A ceremonial burning of the kind he instigated after the Forest defeat can only be effective once.
“Of course, they showed a reaction, great intensity in training,” Hurzeler remarked during his pre-match press conference for the Chelsea game. “But, on the other side, that’s only because of one game.
“Normally you should have intensity throughout the whole season. We were honest to each other that our standards were not high enough and we were not demanding enough of each other, not ruthless enough. Maybe we accept a little bit the lack of intensity, that if I am a player we don’t commit 100 per cent in training.
Kaoruuuuuuuuuuuu 🇯🇵@OfficialBHAFC’s star shows his quality with a beautiful finish#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/1bmvZUXZWG
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 8, 2025
“So, we said we need to commit now, be a team that is hard to beat. We need to have the standards in the last two training sessions for the rest of the season.”
(Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)
