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In Yankuba Minteh, Brighton possess yet another star in the making. The sharp piece of business Brighton did in the summer of 2024 took time to come to the boil but is now cooking. Leeds located no answer to his thrust.
Some errant finishing denied the Gambian a goal, leaving old reliable Danny Welbeck and two from Diego Gómez to bury Leeds. The Paraguayan, yet another find for Brighton’s best-in-class scouting team, most definitely has a scoring touch.
Harsh lessons for Leeds. Brighton fans do not appreciate the cliche of the well-run club. Expectation has climbed far higher than mere subsistence, but they offer the paradigm of how to grow and prosper. Likewise a one-city club, with a large catchment area, Leeds also have legacy on offer. The sepia of the 1970s is yet to fade, even at a club previously chewed up by the Premier League vortex. Fans and media pack travel in large numbers, metrics for Leeds-related content remain large, but the first point in any revival is survival.
Leeds were full of effort, but bereft of the class Brighton have collected from across the globe. Daniel Farke’s initial plan was unsophisticated, sitting back in numbers, Dominic Calvert-Lewin as lone target man, the speed of Noah Okafor in support. It proved unworkable. The pair rarely linked up.
What comes after establishing Premier League credentials is the question Brighton seek answer for. They are a whirl of inconsistency; in the first half they hit creative heights then descended to customary flat spots. From last week’s loss at Manchester United, just one alteration, the selection of Gómez.
The first chance, off the left flank he is keeping warm for Kaoru Mitoma, Leeds midfielder Ao Tanaka’s closest friend in football, fell to Yasin Ayari after Ethan Ampadu coughed up possession. Lucas Perri, Farke’s choice of keeper over Karl Darlow, made a fine save.
By the 11th minute, that selection carried questions after Perri rashly dashed towards Mats Wieffer after Minteh’s flicked pass. The entire goal exposed, Welbeck stroked in his sixth goal this season.
After Ayari shot wide, Brighton looked capable of quickly killing the contest, only for Leeds to improve, though a Sean Longstaff free-kick nearer Eastbourne than Bart Verbruggen’s goal was a dreadful waste of territory hard-won during a period when darkened skies emptied and the action became a montage of slip-sliding play.
The cleaner chances were still dropping Brighton’s way, Calvert-Lewin still chasing shadows. Minteh burst clear on another solo mission and after completing the hard bit, checking back to give himself time, also missed. Add frequent end-product to Minteh’s package and Brighton have another high-value gem on their hands.
Van Hecke’s block of a Longstaff shot denied Leeds’s best chance of a first half that ended with home fans bemoaning their team’s wastefulness and Carlos Baleba’s lack of influence. A prized asset is yet to show the promise of last season though did see out the 90.
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In the first attack of the second period Minteh, on another escape, chose to pass, only for Van Hecke’s shot to be too close to Perri. Georginio Rutter, against his former club, smashed wide soon after.
Leeds’s new plan was to double-mark Minteh. Its end result was Gomez profiting off the other flank. Calvert-Lewin got his first sight of goal but fired wide. Tanaka’s departure pushed Brenden Aaronson into the centre, Farke looking to take advantage of his team’s improvement, Brighton again slackening.
Brighton have recently gained the habit of scoring when their opposition have the upper hand; Welbeck’s winner against Newcastle last month came during one of those flat spots. Gómez converted from close range after Minteh had carved down the right and this time found the right ball. Gómez’s second swiftly arrived, Rutter his supplier, after Jayden Bogle’s mis-control.
Perri partially redeemed himself with an excellent save from Ayari as Leeds’s mission became one of avoiding embarrassment. A tense touchline discussion between Farke’s coaches and the withdrawn Bogle suggested discombobulation by a challenge above their capabilities. When Brighton hit the heights, they can be irresistible.
