Nothing is hurting Brighton & Hove Albion’s aim to qualify for Europe through the Premier League more than their dismal home form. Their winless run at the Amex Stadium stretched to five matches with Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Everton . Each of the eight teams above them in the table have managed at least twice as many home victories as the three Fabian Hurzeler’s side have totted up, with the exception of Chelsea (five).
So, why are Brighton struggling so much in front of their own fans, and what can they do to fix it? The low-block issue Low block — two words guaranteed to send shivers down the spines of the Amex faithful. The Everton game was the latest example of Brighton labouring against opponents set up to protect their goal and crowding the space in front of it, reducing the distances between defence, midfield and attack. The image below shows how Everton sought to protect their lead throughout the second half on Saturday, having scored in the 42nd minute through an Iliman Ndiaye penalty.
The passage of play ended with central defender Jan Paul van Hecke ’s hopeful cross headed clear by James Tarkowski . Data in the dashboard for the Everton match highlights where Hurzeler’s side fell short. They dominated possession, with 69 per cent compared to Everton’s 31 per cent.
Field tilt — a metric aimed at measuring territorial control via the percentage of touches (passes) made in the offensive third — was even more emphatic (82 per cent to 18 percent). And .
