Fabian Hurzeler praises Brighton’s hunger after ruthless 5-0 Coventry win

Fabian Hurzeler praised his Brighton side’s hunger and ruthlessness after they produced an emphatic 5-0 victory over Coventry City on Sunday.

Despite the convincing scoreline, Hurzeler refused to describe Brighton’s display as complete, pointing out that Coventry created opportunities and could have punished his team without some important goalkeeping interventions.

Brighton combined control in possession with defensive stability and were clinical when opportunities arrived.

“No, I wouldn't say complete,” Hurzeler said when asked about the performance. “Part of the truth is that we had a good goalkeeper today. We had in certain moments a little bit of luck that Coventry didn't score.”

However, the Brighton boss was particularly pleased with his players’ mentality after taking control of the match.

“What was positive is that we had this desire to score, we had this hunger to keep going,” he added.

Hurzeler also stressed the importance of remaining humble despite the scale of the victory.

The head coach believes Brighton’s success is built on fundamentals such as winning individual duels, competing for second balls and keeping their possession game simple.

Brighton’s attacking output has been one of the major positives from their start to the Premier League season, and Hurzeler believes having multiple scoring threats is crucial.

“It's not about having one good goalscorer,” he explained. “It's about having this flexibility of having many goalscorers.”

He described Brighton as “quite ruthless” against Coventry and believes the willingness of players from different positions to attack the penalty area is helping produce goals.

Hurzeler was also impressed by Lewis’s goal, although he insisted the player's contribution towards another clean sheet remained more important.

“I know that he has this technique and he shows it daily in the training sessions,” Hurzeler said. “He has a great right foot.”

Despite their encouraging start, Hurzeler is determined to prevent expectations from getting ahead of performances.

“We don't take these things for granted,” he said. “We should understand that we are in the situation from doing the basic things right.”

At the same time, the Brighton boss wants his players to carry growing confidence into their next fixtures and believe they can compete anywhere in the Premier League.

Brighton now have two matches remaining before the international break. Hurzeler wants his players to maintain their confidence while continuing to focus on the fundamentals that have underpinned their impressive start.