Luton scored twice in the opening two minutes and 17 seconds
en route to a stunning 4-0 win against Brighton at Kenilworth Road.
Aided by a superb hat-trick from striker Elijah Adebayo, this
was comfortably the hosts’ biggest Premier League win and their most commanding
performance.
It was earned in swashbuckling style as they dismissed an
insipid Brighton to move out of the relegation zone for the first time in
nearly two months.
Chiedozie Ogbene also netted during a first half in which
Roberto De Zerbi’s side simply could not cope with what came their way, a
shadow of the team that won the corresponding fixture 4-1 on the opening
weekend.
Luton made a start beyond manager Rob Edwards’ most
rose-tinted expectations.
Adebayo headed his first after 19 seconds. Ogbene received
the ball on the edge of the box and crossed to the far post towards Carlton
Morris.
The Hatters captain, leaping determinedly above his marker,
nodded back across goal to Adebayo, who got there before goalkeeper Jason
Steele to convert.
Brighton barely had time to draw breath before it was two.
Albert Sambi Lokonga’s pinpoint pass dropped in behind the
visitors’ defence, which had pushed up, leaving a straight race to the ball
between Ogbene and Steele.
It was won comfortably by the fleet-footed Luton winger who
toed it beyond the keeper and, with 137 seconds on the clock, poked into an
empty goal to cap a breathtaking start.
Rarely, if ever, have Brighton under De Zerbi been so blown
away as they were in the opening 25 minutes.
Jordan Clark came close to inflicting further damage when he
cut in on his left foot and had a shot blocked by the legs of Steele.
By then, De Zerbi had already lost James Milner to injury,
with any pre-game ploy to stymie Luton sinking into disarray.
The stats said Brighton had enjoyed 60 per cent possession
but almost all of it had been in their own half, passing themselves in circles
in a bid to navigate Luton’s ravenous high pressing.
Pascal Gross scooped a shot more in hope than expectation
from outside the box as the Seagulls struggled to come to terms with their
predicament.
Lewis Dunk stopped Adebayo with a finely-timed last-ditch slide
inside the six-yard box as the striker bore down threatening to wrap the game
up after 35 minutes, before Clark had his second good try of the night deflect
inches wide.
It was a momentary reprieve.
Adebayo’s second and Luton’s third was a gem and owed everything
to the timing of the striker’s run, hanging just behind Brighton’s defensive
line until Ross Barkley released his pass.
The finish ripped past Steele at his near post.
Brighton had won three of their previous 15 league games,
success this season season being propped up by progress in Europe and in the FA
Cup.
Here, they showed nothing of the form that saw them start the
campaign with five wins out of six.
Luton’s goals were getting easier to come by.
In the 55th minute Adebayo completed his hat-trick, heading
in Alfie Doughty’s corner from amongst a static Brighton defence, the only
movement towards the ball coming from striker Joao Pedro who inadvertently
flicked it into his opposite number’s path.
Thomas Kaminski made a late save from Danny Welbeck which was
worthy of his outfield team-mates’ efforts.
For Brighton, it had been a chastening night.
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