Brighton rout Palace 5-0 at the Amex with Diego Gomez scoring from halfway
Brighton beat Crystal Palace 5-0 at the Amex on Sunday in a Premier League match, with Diego Gomez opening the scoring from the halfway line in the seventh minute.
Brighton’s early strike by Gomez, a 51-metre effort that put the hosts 2-0 up, followed Lewis Dunk’s 35-yard goal that had earned him the Premier League goal of the month for September against Coventry; Gomez’s finish was described in the match coverage as eclipsing that strike. Gomez, a 23-year-old Paraguay midfielder, said: "When I scored, I didn't know where to run, or what to do," and added: "When I got the ball, I knew the goalkeeper was a little bit ahead. I was very happy with the goal." The article notes Gomez played alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi at Inter Miami before joining Brighton in January 2025.
Commentators compared Gomez’s finish to other famous long-range strikes. Former Premier League striker Efan Ekoku, part of the BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary team, said: "That's the goal of the season so far, what a hit," and added: "[It was] superbly struck and right over the head of the keeper from the centre-circle." Former Newcastle goalkeeper and Match of the Day pundit Shay Given said the goal was "reminiscent of David Beckham [for Manchester United versus Wimbledon in 1996]" and added: "I don't even blame Benitez the goalkeeper."
The report placed Gomez’s effort in statistical context, calling it the furthest long-range Premier League goal since Wayne Rooney's 58-metre strike for Everton in November 2017. Brighton now have 16 points from seven league matches and have scored 23 top-flight goals, four more than Manchester City and more than double Arsenal's 11. The piece also noted that only three teams since the Premier League began in 1992 have scored more in their first seven games: Arsenal in 2009-10 (24), Manchester United in 2011-12 (24) and Manchester City in 2019-20 (27).
The article listed Brighton’s recent results to illustrate form: a 4-0 opening win against Aston Villa, 5-0 at Coventry, 3-0 versus Arsenal, a 2-0 away victory at Sunderland despite having a player sent off, and the 5-0 win over Palace. In the Carabao Cup they recovered from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Old Trafford and eliminate Manchester United, while in European competition they scored four goals against Tromso and four against Kauno Zalgiris. Brighton have had 10 different goalscorers and sit third in the table in the reported standings.
Fabian Hurzeler, who was appointed the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history in June 2024 at the age of 31 and is described in the article as a former art dealer, urged caution despite the win. He said: "We have to stay very humble. The season will be long. We have to keep going. We can't be satisfied. We have to keep pushing, stay humble and understand why we are successful at the moment to keep pushing at that level." On Gomez's goal Hurzeler added: "It's not simple to score a goal like this. Everyone speaks about his goal, but to me the most important thing is the things we can improve, small easy passes we missed. It's good to celebrate the win but understand there is still space for improvement especially for individual players. We don't train shots from 50 metres. Overall, we know he has a really good finish. In these moments it's about being very precise with his long kick. The perception to recognise the keeper and be quick to go to the action was impressive."
Given offered broader perspective on Brighton's season and strengths, citing set-pieces and defensive records in his analysis. He said: "I know it's rare, but you look at Leicester in 2016 and Blackburn in 1995 when I was a kid," and added: "At the minute, you'd say they could upset the apple cart, but obviously it's a long winter coming up. Being in European competition as well, that will take its toll for sure. But they're having an unbelievable start to the season. Even set-plays as well, they're the best in the league (nine goals scored). They've scored the most goals overall and kept the joint-most goals out, so that's a good start for any team to do well, isn't it?!"
Brighton face a run of five consecutive away fixtures next, including league trips to Liverpool and Manchester City, a Carabao Cup last-16 tie at the Etihad Stadium, and Conference League matches away to Jablonec and Getafe, before returning to the Amex on 8 November to play Brentford.
