Albion enjoy theirhard-fought win (Image: Richard Parkes)
Albion enjoy theirhard-fought win (Image: Richard Parkes)
Fabian Hurzeler does not want to be 'nice' Brighton any more.
But he has had to reword one of his favourite sayings as his side remained third in the Premier League.
The Seagulls impressed defensively as they ground out a 2-0 win at Sunderland.
They played more than half an hour with ten men after Pascal Struijk was sent off.
But they preserved the lead given them by Maxim De Cuyoer and added to it in stoppage time when Jaouen Hadjam scored.
Why Hürzeler laughed and then clarified a comment after the win at Sunderland. Defence wins matches. As did two moments of quality #bhafc https://t.co/hmoiA1Ihv6. https://t.co/7UIoCBWoue
— Brian Owen (@Brian__Owen) October 10, 2026
Albion have four clean sheets in six Prem games and head coach Hurzeler said: "Of course it’s an enjoyment to see the team suffering together, to see the team defending together.
“We celebrated the small milestones, and you celebrate the small actions.
“You see players celebrated their own personal duels. Celebrating like when they win a tackle.
“They gained energy off the personal duels and that's what normally my team is not known for.
“We are known for scoring goals, we are known for playing nice football, but I always wanted to emphasise we don't always want to be this nice club anymore.
“We want to be a team that plays also effective football, and this was a good start.”
Hurzeler has repeatedly said “defence wins championships” but laughed and changed his wording to avoid any suggestion that he is tipping his side to take the Prem title after their good start to the campaign.
Read more...
Hurzeler questions Struijk red card after Albion win with ten men
Audio review as Albion show their togetherness at Sunderland
Hurzeler explains what he loved most about Albion's 2-0 win at Sunderland
He said: “Maybe I sound a little old school now but there's an old phrase and I think it still counts, defence wins championships."
Then he quickly stressed: “We're not thinking about championships, don't get me wrong. I don't want to speak on that!
“But it's an old phrase, and I try to use it, so I change it now to defence wins games and, if we have this clean sheet, if we keep working after this, and if everyone understands, 'Okay, I need to work hard, no matter if I'm a striker, a winger, a defensive midfielder, I have a responsibility, I need to take ownership to defend my own goal'.
“And I think then you can have these kinds of performances, and that's what my team did today.