What a difference a week has made for Fabian Hürzeler. There were plenty of Brighton supporters who would have justifiably viewed this fixture with some trepidation given their abject performance in the record 7-0 Premier League defeat at Nottingham Forest. But despite falling behind to a dreadful error from Bart Verbruggen when he spilled Cole Palmer’s cross into his own net after just five minutes, a rousing comeback inspired by Georginio Rutter, their record signing, made it a night to remember against opponents that are not the most popular in these parts given recent history between the two clubs.
There were wild celebrations when Kaoru Mitoma – who was the subject of a £61m bid from Al-Nassr during the transfer window – put Brighton ahead midway through the second half after Rutter had equalised with a clever header, with Hürzeler enjoying his moment of redemption as his side recorded their first win here since beating Manchester City at the start of November.
