Lewis Dunk's Long-Range Strike Highlights a 5-0 Brighton Win at Coventry City
Brighton & Hove Albion thrashed ten-man Coventry City 5-0, with Lewis Dunk's long-range strike the pick of five different goals, leaving Coventry bottom of the Premier League with no points and no goals scored through four matches.
Coventry City's winless, scoreless start to the Premier League season reached a new low. Brighton scored five without reply, reduced the home side to ten men before the hour, and did it with five different goalscorers — the kind of afternoon that leaves very little to take from the performance.
Five goals, five scorers
Charalampos Kostoulas put Brighton ahead just before half-time, and Malick Yalcouye doubled the lead early in the second half. Pascal Groß converted a penalty on 70 minutes, and then Lewis Dunk produced the goal of the afternoon 13 minutes later — a strike from distance that even surprised him.
"I've got that sort of shot in my locker — I shocked myself. If you see from my celebration, I didn't think it was going to come out like that."
— Lewis Dunk, Brighton defender
"It was an unbelievable strike — they can wrap the award up and do the ceremony tomorrow because it isn't getting better than this."
— Bart Verbruggen, Brighton goalkeeper
Yasin Ayari added a fifth in the fourth minute of stoppage time to complete the scoreline. Coventry's afternoon had already been ruined by then: Taiwo Awoniyi was sent off in the 53rd minute for an elbow on Maxim De Cuyper, leaving Frank Lampard's side to play the last 37 minutes a man light while already 2-0 down.
Goal timeline
| Minute | Scorer | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 35' | Charalampos Kostoulas | Brighton |
| 51' | Malick Yalcouye | Brighton |
| 70' (pen) | Pascal Groß | Brighton |
| 83' | Lewis Dunk | Brighton |
| 90+4' | Yasin Ayari | Brighton |
Bottom of the table, and running out of answers
Coventry came into the round bottom of the Premier League on nought points from three matches, having lost to Arsenal, Hull City and Manchester City without scoring a single goal. This defeat makes it four straight losses to open their return to the top flight, with no goals scored and ten conceded — the division's only side yet to find the net this season. Brighton, who had arrived in mid-table on four points from a win, a loss and a draw, move to seven points and a goal difference of +8, comfortably their best attacking afternoon of the campaign so far.
"Welcome to the Premier League, that is what that is — we need to just be honest about that, we need to take chances in this league."
— Frank Lampard, Coventry City manager
Picks for you
Advertising. Affiliate links — we may earn a commission on your purchases, at no extra cost to you. It does not influence our editorial coverage.
Keep reading
International FootballFiorentina 1-1 Napoli: Jiménez cancels out Gilmour to deny Allegri's side at the Franchi
Billy Gilmour put Napoli ahead early at the Franchi, but Álex Jiménez's second-half equaliser earned Fiorentina a 1-1 draw despite Napoli dominating possession and shots on target.
International FootballBayer Leverkusen beat RB Leipzig 2-0 as Patrik Schick's scoring streak continues
Miguel Gutiérrez set up Patrik Schick's opener and then scored the second himself, giving Bayer Leverkusen a convincing 2-0 win over RB Leipzig at the BayArena.
International FootballNewly promoted Schalke and Elversberg play out 0-0 draw at the Veltins-Arena
FC Schalke 04 and SV Elversberg, both back in the Bundesliga this season, shared a goalless draw in Gelsenkirchen that left neither side's unbeaten home form dented.