Elijah Adebayo scored a hat-trick as Luton put on an extraordinary showing to wallop Brighton 4-0 and move out of the relegation zone.
Luton set the tone for the barnstorming evening with two goals inside the first two minutes as Adebayo and Chiedozie Ogbene left Brighton reeling. It was the quickest a team had gone 2-0 up in the Premier League since Leicester scored two in the first two minutes against Derby in 1998.
Rob Edwards’ team did not stop there as they harassed the Seagulls with incredible energy and intelligent pressing. Adebayo seized upon a Ross Barkley pass for 3-0 in the 42nd minute before the striker headed home to complete his treble on 56 minutes.
The result lifts the Hatters above Everton in the Premier League table and out of the relegation zone with a game in hand on the Toffees.
How Luton pummelled Brighton…
Luton came out of the traps flying, perhaps inspired by skipper Tom Lockyer’s pre-match appearance where the Luton fans gave him a heart-warming welcome in his first public appearance since suffering his cardiac arrest.
Adebayo headed home his first after 19 seconds. Ogbene received the ball on the edge of the box and crossed to the far post towards Carlton Morris, who headed back across goal for Adebayo to bundle it home.
Brighton’s heads were still spinning as Luton made it 2-0 moments later.
Albert Sambi Lokonga’s pinpoint pass dropped in behind the visitors’ defence, which had pushed up, leaving Ogbene to race through and toe the ball away from the goalkeeper into the net.
Luton’s aggressive high pressing made it impossible for Brighton to find their key men in creative areas.
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 Jordan Clark fired inches wide.
Luton’s third goal was coming and it was Adebayo that delivered.
Barkley released his pass in behind and the striker was in no mood to pass up the golden chance, finishing beyond Jason Steele.
In the 55th minute Adebayo completed his hat-trick, heading in Alfie Doughty’s flicked-on corner from among a static Brighton defence.
A night to remember for Luton, who are showing serious signs of survival.
Edwards proud of ‘ruthless’ Luton
Luton’s Rob Edwards:
“It was a good night for us, wasn’t it? It started with Locks going out and seeing the fans, who were able to show their love, support and appreciation for him and then we went and delivered a great performance. I’m really proud and it was a really great night for us.
“You try and start aggressively and on the front foot, but we got a great start with goals as well. I think that when you are going up against a top team – and Brighton are that – they are dangerous. We scored two in two minutes, so why can’t they?
“We’ve been punished quickly this year by other top teams, so it was important we kept our foot down and kept trying to do the right things. That was what was really impressive about us tonight – we were relentless.
“It’s good, but it’s still only three points. It’s good for our confidence and our belief. I think we played well and I think we’ve played well for a long time now – and I know tonight will get more headlines because of the result and who it’s against, I get that. Tonight we were just ruthless and maybe we could have been a bit more ruthless, so I was still jumping around at 4-0.”
De Zerbi: It’s very tough to accept defeat – we didn’t play
Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi:
“It’s difficult to explain. We are all responsible for this defeat. It’s very tough to accept and to understand, but I think we can learn a lot from this day, this defeat, this game. We have to remember this, but in the same way, we have to forget. We are all responsible – me first of all.
“We didn’t play. It wasn’t that we played badly, we didn’t play. If you don’t play, it is difficult to explain. We lost the second ball, we lost duels, we didn’t play well. I think we have to remember where we started. We are Brighton, we are a good team, we have good players, we have been playing very well since last season, but we can’t forget to show our qualities.
“I don’t want to make any excuses because we have to play better. We have to fight – we must fight. We have to be able to accept the defeat and to be able to lose the game with dignity.”
On Joao Pedro’s injury: “I don’t know at the moment. It’s too early to say something more. We hope it’s not a bad injury because we need him.”
Opta: Awesome Adebayo
- Adebayo was the first Luton player to score a top-flight hat-trick since Lars Elstrup against Norwich City in September 1990, and the first to do so at Kenilworth Road since Mark Stein against Oxford United in February 1988.
- Brighton have now failed to score in their last three games in the Premier League, only going on a longer such run in the competition between March and April 2019 under Chris Hughton (6 games).
- Of the five times Brighton have been three goals down at half-time in a Premier League game, three of those occasions have been under Roberto De Zerbi, also doing so against Everton in May 2023 and Aston Villa in September 2023.
