Brighton & Hove Albion delivered an emphatic performance on Saturday, overwhelming Oxford United with a 6-0 victory in the first round of the EFL Cup. That was a particularly testy call from Brighton’s manager, Fabian Hurzeler, who shocked everyone by fielding eight changes to his starting XI. The team answered with an exclamation point—on and off the field.
The matchup held at the Kassam Stadium was an opportunity for Hurzeler’s team to exhibit their depth and talent. Among those new faces were defenders Olivier Boscagli and Diego Coppala, who both debuted with the club. Boscagli marked the occasion by scoring Brighton’s opening goal in the 12th minute, benefiting from a deflection off Oxford’s Jack Currie.
Brighton, carrying home field momentum, doubled their lead with midfielder Brajan Gruda getting in on the action. Just four minutes later he doubled the lead when he scored one himself. On top of that, he helped set up a fifth goal! Gruda’s contributions were instrumental, especially after he delivered a corner that was expertly touched down by Diego Coppola, further extending Brighton’s advantage.
Though Oxford tried to hit back — with a long-range near miss from Przemyslaw Placheta the closest they came — Brighton were in cruise control, comfortable and composed. Igor Julio’s error created an opportunity for Placheta, but the home side couldn’t make the most of it. Rather, Brighton went the other way and could have doubled their lead through Ferdi Kadioglu before Gruda’s corner was converted.
The scoring frenzy did not stop there. Diego Gomez capped off the visitors’ increasing advantage putting one away. Tommy Watson finished an impressive individual performance with Brighton’s third just shy of the hour mark to put the game out of reach for Utah. His strike capped the team’s complete control over their opponents.
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