The Saints were under intense pressure the whole game, and although displaying some competitiveness in spurts, a significantly better Seagulls team finally played them off the pitch. Even as recently as 2019, Southampton defeated Brighton twice. A Saints fan's catharsis came from revisiting those games' highlights, one of which included a 25-yard curler by Moussa Djenepo that was evocative of his goal against Manchester City this year.
As both players are trying out for jobs for the upcoming season, the Saints decided to start Joe Aribo and James Bree. The rest of Southampton's lineup consisted of Theo Walcott, Carlos Alcaraz, and Mohamed Elyounoussi in attack. Brighton besieged Southampton's goal over the first 15 minutes, producing opportunity after opportunity and controlling possession. Brighton attacker Kaoru Mitoma's missed opportunity from 15 yards after eluding Lyanco and Jan Bednarek was the highlight of the early action.