Brighton score five as Coventry suffer fourth straight league defeat

Brighton beat Coventry City 5-0 at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Sunday, September 13, with five different players scoring. BBC Sport's match report confirmed that the hosts finished with 10 men after Taiwo Awoniyi was sent off early in the second half.

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Charalampos Kostoulas opened the scoring in the 35th minute, and Malick Yalcouye doubled Brighton's lead in the 51st. Awoniyi received a straight red card two minutes later for an elbow on Maxim De Cuyper. Pascal Gross made it 3-0 from the penalty spot in the 70th minute after Bobby Thomas fouled Kostoulas inside the area.

Lewis Dunk struck Brighton's fourth in the 83rd minute before Yasin Ayari added the fifth in stoppage time. The BBC's match statistics recorded 22 Brighton shots to Coventry's 14. Bart Verbruggen made six saves to preserve the visitors' clean sheet, while Brighton finished with 69.5% possession.

For Coventry, the result extended a difficult return to the Premier League after 25 years away. BBC Sport's separate report on their start to the season noted that they had lost all four league matches without scoring. Crystal Palace in 2017-18 were the only previous Premier League side to begin a campaign with that combination of four defeats and no goals.

There had been opportunities for Coventry before the game slipped away. The BBC reported that they produced 10 first-half shots, with Frank Onyeka and Jack Rudoni among those involved in creating chances, and reached the interval only one goal behind. The second goal and dismissal then came within two minutes, changing the circumstances after a first half in which Coventry had threatened.

Frank Lampard said afterwards that his players had continued to give their effort but needed to accept responsibility and improve to meet Premier League standards. In comments to Sky Sports carried by the BBC, he pointed to an opening schedule that included trips to Arsenal and Manchester City. He said the team would keep working rather than feel sorry for itself, acknowledging the unfamiliar pressure facing many of his players.