Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe sh*t as Brighton hit back at Gattuso’s Marseille

Memes abound as Gennaro Gattuso’s Marseille go 2-0 up against Brighton before making a mess of it.

It’s been quite a week for football meme content, hasn’t it? And a Brighton comeback from 2-0 down to claim a first ever European point against Gennaro Gattuso’s Marseille inevitably brought to mind one of the classics.

Both teams could certainly point to the good times and the sh*t ones here, but it will be Brighton who depart the happier and not just because of the nature of the comeback.

There was, in truth, more sh*t than good on the night from a Brighton side enduring its first awkward spell under Roberto De Zerbi and still very much learning the ropes in European football.

One of the things they’ll have learned here is the fact every game in a four-team group is a six-pointer. The point they gained takes its place in the Seagulls’ history books, but the two Marseille are denied are just as important. Brighton remain bottom of the group but suddenly only a point off second spot in a group still absolutely wide open. Defeat here and it would have been a long road back.

The concerns over Brighton’s defending were not eased here. The two goals conceded in quick succession were horrible, the second in particular notable for a wildly uncharacteristic yet hideous error from Lewis Dunk, who also didn’t particularly cover himself in glory for the first goal.

Dunk being Dunk, he spent the rest of the night making up for it, most notably with a last-ditch block that kept Brighton’s deficit to one goal at a crucial time in the second half. It would prove significant.

But even that moment of brilliance was in its own way a concern. A moment of last-gasp brilliance such as that is all well and good, but it does not form the basis of a long-term defensive strategy. A Marseille team that is hardly full of confidence found it far too easy, especially in the first half but even on occasion in the second, to make its way through, around and behind the Brighton defence.

It’s far too early to say Brighton have been worked out, but there are enough reasons to be worried now given the amount of times it’s happening. Being outwitted by a manager as savvy as Unai Emery is one thing, having your defensive shape pulled apart by Gattuso is quite another.

Moises Caicedo has shown only glimpses of what he’s about at Chelsea, but for the first time, this iteration of Brighton have sold a key player and visibly missed them. It shakes confidence. It has shaken confidence.

And yet what’s good about Brighton remains just as good, and they deserved their point. It wasn’t quite a classic game of two halves; the last five minutes of the first half served notice that Marseille’s defence could be caught square and static if Brighton were clever. And they usually are.

Danny Welbeck should have scored or squared a particularly eye-catching opportunity, while Ansu Fati’s clever looping header had Pau Lopez at full stretch as warnings were sounded that Marseille did not or could not heed.

The first goal was a classic bit of Brighton, with Tariq Lamptey – how joyous it is to see him back playing and playing as well as this – linking up with Kaoru Mitoma to tee up Pascal Gross to calmly sidefoot home. Mitoma and Gross are absolutely the two men you’d want involved in the most important areas and moments, and both played their part.

Lamptey was involved in the equaliser too, his quick feet drawing a foul to allow Joao Pedro to coolly convert from the spot.

Brighton still have the look of a work in progress but after a difficult week there was more reason for cheer than despair here.

They are definitely, overall, more good than sh*t.