Brighton Qualify For European Football For First Time Ever

Brighton & Hove Albion will play European football next season for the 1st time in the club's 121-year history after guaranteeing a top seven finish in the EPL.

Robert Summerscales | May 21, 2023

Brighton Qualify For European Football For First Time Ever /

Brighton & Hove Albion will play European football next season for the first time in the club's 121-year history.

Sunday's 3-1 win over Southampton guaranteed the Seagulls a top-seven finish in the Premier League.

Evan Ferguson scored twice in the first half at the AMEX Stadium to fire Brighton into a 2-0 lead.

Mohamed Elyounoussi pulled a goal back for Southampton on 58 minutes but Pascal Gross then wrapped up Brighton's 18th EPL win of the season.

Brighton & Hove Albion beat Southampton 3-1 on Sunday to secure European football for the first time :: IMAGO/Colorsport/Shaun Boggust

Brighton will play in the UEFA Europa League if they finish fifth or sixth, while seventh place would see them enter the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Roberto De Zerbi's team need just one point from their final two matches - at home against Manchester City on Wednesday and then away at Aston Villa next Sunday - to be sure of sixth place.

Villa are the only team who can overtake Brighton but Unai Emery's side would require a 16-goal swing in the remaining fixtures.

Published May 21, 2023

ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.