August 12, (THEWILL) – Joao Pedro and Simon Adingra scored their first goals for Brighton and Hove Albion to lead the Seagulls to a 4-1 thrashing of English Premier League newcomers, Luton Town, on Saturday.
Solly March opened the scoring in the first half before Pedro converted a penalty after being brought down by Luton’s Tom Lockyer. Carlton Morris pulled one back from the spot for Luton after a Lewis Dunk handball.
Despite the ongoing transfer saga surrounding star midfielder, Moises Caicedo, Brighton showed no signs of distraction as they dominated the match. Caicedo was left out of the squad amid reports of a British record £111 million move to Liverpool, with the Ecuadorian said to prefer Chelsea.
Brighton newcomers, Mahmoud Dahoud and James Milner, also made their debuts as manager Roberto De Zerbi guided the club to a winning start in their first-ever season featuring European football. Luton, just promoted after a 30-year absence from the top flight, were second-best for most of the match.
The Seagulls should have added more, with Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Evan Ferguson all hitting the woodwork. Ferguson did get his goal late on after Adingra had capitalised on an error to add to the scoreline and help Brighton seal the emphatic win. Luton offered a threat on the counter-attack but Brighton’s quality proved the difference.
After last season’s club-record 6th-place finish, Brighton have begun their domestic campaign in style despite the Caicedo situation. Luton will look to regroup before facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next week, while Brighton travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
