The English Premier League wrapped up its seventh weekend of action on Monday with Tottenham Hotspur’s last-gasp 3-1 win over newly promoted Coventry City.
Manchester City remains the league’s surprise leader with a perfect 21 points from seven games, while Sunderland now anchors the table with just four points from its opening fixtures.
Here are the key storylines from a busy weekend of EPL action:
Brighton became the story of the season
Manchester City’s perfect start and imperfect legal history have stolen much of the Premier League’s thunder this season, but it’s lovable Brighton & Hove Albion that deserves all the attention. The South Coast team is third in the table with a 5-1-1 record and a frankly absurd goal difference of +18. It beat Aston Villa 4-0 on the opening day of the season; it beat defending champion Arsenal 3-0 right before the international break; and now, on Matchday 7, it beat Crystal Palace 5-0 to keep its incredibly attacking form rolling. Brighton is now firmly in the Champions League race, and more results like these will see it become a legitimate title contender too…but coach Fabian Hurzeler isn’t thinking about any of that quite yet.
“I think it’s not the right moment to watch the table,” said Hurzeler after the Palace win. “The right moment is to watch the game back and try to improve and try to recover well because on Thursday, it’s the next challenge.”
Sure, but should Brighton fans start getting excited? According to Hurzeler, the answer is no. “They shouldn’t look at the table,” he said. “They should enjoy the night today without a mobile phone, enjoy a beer or something else.”
There you have it, Brighton fans, straight from the big man in charge: ignore the table and have a beer. You’ve earned it.
