Brighton & Hove Albion maintained their remarkable start to the season with an emphatic 5-0 victory over rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday, punctuated by a sensational 51-metre strike from Diego Gomez. The 23-year-old Paraguayan midfielder caught Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez off his line from the centre-circle in just the seventh minute to put the Seagulls 2-0 ahead. Gomez's audacious effort represents the furthest long-range Premier League goal since Wayne Rooney netted from 58 metres for Everton against West Ham in November 2017.
The spectacular finish drew instant praise across football, with Match of the Day pundit Shay Given likening the hit to David Beckham's famous 1996 strike against Wimbledon, while radio commentator Efan Ekoku declared it the goal of the season so far. Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, who claimed September's Premier League goal of the month with a 35-yard thunderbolt against Coventry, joked that his team-mate had already snatched the club's goal of the season award. Gomez, who signed for Brighton in January 2025 after playing alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Inter Miami, admitted he was delighted with the finish and did not know how to celebrate after spotting Benitez out of position.
The derby triumph moved Fabian Hurzeler's high-flying side into third place with 16 points from seven fixtures. The Seagulls have now scored 23 Premier League goals this season—four more than league leaders Manchester City and more than double reigning champions Arsenal's tally of 11. Across Europe's top five leagues, only Barcelona (39 goals in nine matches) have managed more domestic goals, while only Arsenal in 2009-10 (24), Manchester United in 2011-12 (24), and Manchester City in 2019-20 (27) have ever registered more goals through the opening seven games of a Premier League campaign. Their prolific form has crossed competitions as well, including a 3-2 Carabao Cup comeback win over Manchester United at Old Trafford and four-goal outings against both Tromso and Kauno Zalgiris in the Conference League.
Despite Brighton leading the league with nine set-piece goals and keeping joint-most clean sheets, 31-year-old manager Hurzeler was quick to shut down any Premier League title talk, insisting his players must stay humble and recognise areas for improvement. That discipline will be immediately tested as Brighton embark on a demanding sequence of five consecutive away matches. The challenging road stretch features league trips to Liverpool and Manchester City, a Carabao Cup last-16 visit to the Etihad Stadium, and Conference League ties against Jablonec in the Czech Republic and Getafe in Spain before the Seagulls finally return to the Amex on 8 November to host Brentford.