3-1 win over ‘bottomers’ Southampton secures at least seventh place
Tottenham, 8th place, ‘securing 7th place’ is the fire
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Yeong-ho = English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) Brighton & Hove Albion (hereinafter referred to as Brighton) held a ticket to a European club competition for the first time in its 122 years of existence.
Brighton won 3-1 with Evan Ferguson’s multi-goal performance in the 2022-2023 EPL round 37 home game against Southampton held at the Amex Stadium in Palmer, England on the 22nd (Korean time).
With this, 6th place Brighton (61 points, +20 goals scored) with 2 games remaining widened the gap with 8th place Tottenham (57 points) with only 1 game left to 4 points and broke away from the chase.
Brighton has a 3-point difference with 7th place Aston Villa (58 points, +5 goal loss) with only one game remaining, but it is highly likely to keep 6th place even if the points are equal due to a large lead in goal loss.
As a result, Brighton secured at least 7th place, so that next season’s European Football Federation (UEFA) Europa League ticket (5th to 6th place) or UEFA Conference League ticket (7th place) could be secured.
Looking at the current situation, advancing to the Europa League is more likely.
Founded in 1901, this is the first time Brighton has secured qualification for European club competition.
Brighton, which had been to and fro in the middle and lower leagues, returned to the first division by finishing second in the championship (second division) in the 2016-2017 season.It has been 34 years since they were relegated to the bottom of the first division in the 1982-1983 season.
After finishing 15th in the first season of EPL promotion in the 2017-2018 season, Brighton was a mid-lower team barely avoiding relegation, such as 17th in the 2018-2019 season, 15th in the 2019-2020 season, and 16th in the 2020-2021 season.
However, Brighton finished the 2021-2022 season in ninth place and was named in the’Top 10’, and this season it is expected to secure at least 7th place and take the highest ranking ever.
On the other hand, 8th place Tottenham failed to secure a ticket to the Europa League, so they must beat Leeds United in the final match of this season and then watch Aston Villa’s final match in 7th place.
Coincidentally, Aston Villa’s final opponent is Brighton.Brighton will face Aston Villa on the 29th after playing the 32nd round with Man City on the morning of the 25th.
If Aston Villa beats Brighton in the final game, Tottenham’s chances to play in the European club competition next season are all gone.