Gomez's halfway-line stunner caps Brighton's superb PL start — SkimNews
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- Diego Gomez scored from 51 metres — the halfway line — in Brighton's 5-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, the furthest long-range Premier League goal since Wayne Rooney's 58-metre strike for Everton against West Ham in November 2017.
- Brighton sit third with 16 points from seven matches and have scored 23 league goals — four more than leaders Manchester City and more than double reigning champions Arsenal's 11.
- Since the Premier League began in 1992, only Arsenal (2009-10, 24), Manchester United (2011-12, 24), and Manchester City (2019-20, 27) have scored more across the first seven matches of a season.
- Among Europe's top five domestic leagues, only Barcelona — with 39 goals in nine La Liga matches — have outscored Brighton this season.
- Fabian Hurzeler, the youngest permanent Premier League manager when appointed at 31 in June 2024, urged humility after the win, telling reporters: "We have to stay very humble. The season will be long."
- Brighton's next five matches are all away, including Premier League trips to Liverpool and Manchester City, a last-16 Carabao Cup tie at the Etihad, and Conference League fixtures in Czech Republic and Spain.
- Pundit Shay Given compared Gomez's strike to David Beckham's 1996 goal for Manchester United against Wimbledon, saying: "You've just got to take your hat off to Gomez. That is just a brilliant, brilliant goal."
Why it matters: Brighton's 23-goal, 16-point start puts them ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal in attack, with only three historically dominant sides ever scoring more through seven Premier League games. The bigger tell is balance: 10 different goalscorers and joint-most clean sheets suggest Hurzeler's side is more than a fun story — but a five-game away run at Liverpool, Manchester City (twice), and across Europe before November 8 will prove whether the form survives real pressure.
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