The 2022–23 season was the 121st season in the existence of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club and the club's sixth consecutive season in the Premier League. In addition to the league, they also competed in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
Brighton finished the league season in sixth place, qualifying for European football for the first time in club history into the UEFA Europa League. This was the highest league finish in the club's history, surpassing the record of ninth place set in the previous season.
Summary Brighton's opening game of the Premier League season made history, with The Seagulls recording their first ever win at Old Trafford in the 2–1 victory over Manchester United. Pascal Groß scored a brace, taking his tally up to four goals in total against the Red Devils. The win also recorded back to back victories, having won 4–0 in the last home game of the previous season. Brighton set a club record of nine consecutive top-flight matches without defeat after their 1–0 home win over Leeds on 27 August. However, any chance of extending this was ended in their next match after losing 2–1 at Fulham with Lewis Dunk scoring his sixth Premier League own goal of his career.
Five days later, Brighton beat Leicester 5–2 at Falmer Stadium, with this being the first time the Seagulls have scored five goals in a Premier League fixture. On 8 September, Graham Potter left Brighton for Chelsea following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel. Andrew Crofts former Brighton player and current under-23's head coach took over as interim head coach with current player Adam Lallana acting as interim first-team coach.
On 18 September 2022, Brighton announced Roberto De Zerbi as the club's new head coach on a four-year contract. His first match in charge came on 1 October, which ended in a 3–3 draw away at Liverpool with Leandro Trossard scoring all three of Brighton's goals, becoming the first Brighton player to score a Premier League hat-trick. Brighton had led Liverpool 2–1 at the break before going 3–2 down, with Trossard scoring an 83rd-minute equaliser. De Zerbi lost his first match at Falmer Stadium on 9 October, losing 1–0 to Tottenham.
On 10 October, Enock Mwepu announced he had been forced to retire due to a hereditary heart condition. Brighton thrashed Chelsea 4–1 on 29 October, beating Graham Potter's men on his first return to Falmer Stadium since he left for the Blues, with De Zerbi claiming his first Brighton win.
Mid-season break for World Cup During the mid-season break for the World Cup, Brighton headed to Dubai on a training camp where they later played a friendly against Aston Villa on 8 December. They drew 2–2 with the fellow Premier League opposition with Deniz Undav scoring a brace.
Brighton players at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Brighton were sixth in the Premier League for player representation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup with eight players heading to Qatar for the mid-season competition starting on 20 November.
Jeremy Sarmiento – Ecuador (Group stage exit) Moisés Caicedo – Ecuador (1 goal scored, Group stage exit) Pervis Estupiñán – Ecuador (Group stage exit) Alexis Mac Allister – Argentina (1 goal scored, Winner) Kaoru Mitoma – Japan (Round of 16 exit) Tariq Lamptey – Ghana (Group stage exit) Robert Sánchez – Spain (Round of 16 exit) Leandro Trossard – Belgium (Group stage exit)
Post-World Cup On 20 December, Brighton's first match since the conclusion of the World Cup, they faced an away trip to League One side Charlton Athletic in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. The game finished 0–0, with Solly March firing over his penalty in the shootout to miss the opportunity to send Albion through to the quarter-finals, with Brighton eventually losing. Six days later on Boxing Day, March redeemed himself, scoring his first goal in over two years with a 20-yard thumper in the 3–1 away win over Southampton, where he also assisted Adam Lallana's goal against his former club. On 31 December, in the 4–2 home defeat against league leaders Arsenal, Albions 18-year-old Evan Ferguson scored his first Premier League goal, becoming Brighton's youngest ever goalscorer in the league. After the turn of the year on 3 January 2023, Ferguson scored again on his first Premier League start, also assisting March's second goal of the season in the 4–1 away victory over Everton. Brighton graduate Andrew Moran made his Premier League debut as a substitute in the game. On 29 January, Brighton beat defending champions Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round to advance to the fifth. This victory meant that Brighton had gone three games unbeaten – one draw, two victories – against Liverpool in the 2022–23 season. In the fifth round of the cup competition, on 28 February captain and hometown boy Lewis Dunk made his 400th Brighton appearance, helping the Albion progress into the quarter-final after a 1–0 away win over Championship side Stoke City. On 4 March, long term back-up keeper Jason Steele made his second Premier League appearance of his career – his first coming in November 2021 – keeping his first top flight clean sheet in the 4–0 home win over West Ham. After being selected ahead of Robert Sánchez against the Hammers, the 32-year-old was given a run of game time and preferred to than the Spanish keeper with De Zerbi saying that "maybe he [Steele] is closer than Robert in my style." On 15 March, Pascal Groß made his 200th Seagulls appearance, helping Brighton defeat their bitter rivals Crystal Palace at Falmer Stadium with former Palace youth player Solly March scoring the only goal of the game. Dunk became the first Brighton player to make 200 Premier League appearances on 8 April in an away match at Tottenham, scoring an equaliser in an eventual 1–2 defeat. The refereeing of that game was mired in controversy and several calls were questioned by the media. Brighton were knocked out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage on 23 April, losing on penalties to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium. Solly March was reduced to tears after firing over his second spot kick in a shootout of the season. After the game, De Zerbi spoke that Brighton "have to close the page," putting their Wembley disappointment behind them and focus on the fight for Europe. Three days later, Brighton were not able respond to their FA Cup semi final defeat and lost 3–1 away at Nottingham Forest. However, Facundo Buonanotte scored on his first Premier League start, with Julio Enciso making his first league start, and later Odeluga Offiah coming on for his first Premier League appearance. Three days after that, Brighton's first home game in four weeks, they recorded their highest Premier League win, a 6–0 thrashing over Wolves. Deniz Undav scored his first and second league goals in an Albion shirt, with Pascal Groß and Danny Welbeck also scoring braces. On 8 May, Brighton suffered one of their worse Premier League defeats, a 5–1 thumping at home against Everton, with the Toffees scoring within 34 seconds. On 21 May, after a 3–1 win at home over Southampton, Brighton secured a top six finish meaning they had qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. Three days later, Brighton got a 1–1 draw with Manchester City with Enciso scoring a stunning 25-yard equaliser to sealing sixth place and a place in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League. Brighton's successful season ended in a 2–1 away defeat at Aston Villa on 28 May.
Transfers In DatePosPlayerTransferred fromFeeTeamRef 17 June 2022 CF Julio Enciso Libertad £9,500,000 First Team 20 June 2022 LW Benicio Baker-Boaitey FC Porto Undisclosed U21s 24 June 2022 LW Simon Adingra FC Nordsjælland £6,900,000 U21s 5 August 2022 LB Imari Samuels Reading Free Transfer U21s 12 August 2022 MF Luca Barrington Manchester City Undisclosed U18s 16 August 2022 LB Pervis Estupiñán Villarreal £14,900,000 First Team 1 September 2022 MF Billy Gilmour Chelsea £9,000,000 First Team 4 January 2023 AM Jamie Mullins Bohemian Undisclosed U21s 13 January 2023 AM Facundo Buonanotte Rosario Central £5,300,000 U21s 26 January 2023 CF Mark O'Mahony Cork City Free Transfer U21s 30 January 2023 MF Yasin Ayari AIK £3,500,000 First Team
Out DatePosPlayerTransferred toFeeTeamRef 10 June 2022 CM Jayson Molumby West Bromwich Albion £900,000 First Team 17 June 2022 DM Yves Bissouma Tottenham Hotspur £25,000,000 First Team 25 June 2022 LB Alex Cochrane Heart of Midlothian Undisclosed U21s 30 June 2022 DM Tudor Băluță Farul Constanța Released U21s 30 June 2022 CB Lars Dendoncker Unattached Released U21s 30 June 2022 GK Adam Desbois Hartley Wintney Released U21s 30 June 2022 CF Ulrick Eneme Ella Angers Released U21s 30 June 2022 RB John Lucero Worthing Released U18s 30 June 2022 LW Jaami Qureshi Unattached Released U18s 30 June 2022 RB Ayo Tanimowo Unattached Released U21s 18 July 2022 CB Leo Skiri Østigård Napoli £4,200,000 First Team 4 August 2022 LB Zak Sturge Chelsea Undisclosed U21s 5 August 2022 LB Marc Cucurella Chelsea £56,000,000 First Team 25 August 2022 CB Matthew Clarke Middlesbrough £3,500,000 First Team 26 August 2022 CF Neal Maupay Everton £15,000,000 First Team 1 September 2022 CF Florin Andone UD Las Palmas Released First Team 1 September 2022 CF Zak Emmerson Blackpool Undisclosed U18s 10 October 2022 MF Enock Mwepu Retired First Team 20 January 2023 MF Leandro Trossard Arsenal £21,000,000 First Team 31 January 2023 CB Shane Duffy Fulham Undisclosed First Team
Loans in DatePosPlayerLoaned fromOn loan untilTeamRef 5 August 2022 CB Levi Colwill Chelsea End of Season First Team
Loans out DatePosPlayerLoaned toOn loan untilTeamSource 13 June 2022 GK Fynn Talley Cliftonville End of Season U21s 4 July 2022 LW Simon Adingra Royale Union Saint-Gilloise End of Season U21s 8 July 2022 GK Carl Rushworth Lincoln City End of Season U21s 9 July 2022 CB Haydon Roberts Derby County End of Season U21s 13 July 2022 RW Abdallah Sima Angers End of Season U21s 14 July 2022 CF Aaron Connolly Venezia 6 January 2023 First Team 22 July 2022 AM Taylor Richards Queens Park Rangers End of Season First Team 25 July 2022 CM Marc Leonard Northampton Town End of Season U21s 25 July 2022 DM Jensen Weir Morecambe End of Season U21s 26 July 2022 SS Reda Khadra Sheffield United 10 January 2023 U21s 29 July 2022 AM Teddy Jenks Crawley Town End of Season U21s 2 August 2022 CF Andi Zeqiri Basel End of Season First Team 4 August 2022 RB Michał Karbownik Fortuna Düsseldorf End of Season First Team 5 August 2022 CB Shane Duffy Fulham 31 January 2023 First Team 16 August 2022 GK Kjell Scherpen Vitesse End of Season First Team 23 August 2022 CF Lorent Tolaj Salford City 31 January 2023 U21s 25 August 2022 CM Kacper Kozłowski Vitesse End of Season U21s 1 September 2022 LB Leigh Kavanagh Derby County End of Season U21s 9 September 2022 DM Steven Alzate Standard Liège End of Season First Team 2 January 2023 GK Killian Cahill Bognor Regis Town End of Season U21s 6 January 2023 CF Aaron Connolly Hull City End of Season First Team 10 January 2023 AM Reda Khadra Birmingham City End of Season U21s 13 January 2023 RW Todd Miller Doncaster Rovers End of Season U21s 13 January 2023 CB Ed Turns Leyton Orient End of Season U21s 18 January 2023 GK James Beadle Crewe Alexandra End of season U21s 31 January 2023 LB James Furlong Motherwell End of Season U21s 31 January 2023 CM Jack Spong Crawley Town End of Season U21s 31 January 2023 CF Lorent Tolaj Dundee End of Season U21s 31 January 2023 CB Antef Tsoungui Lommel End of season U21s
First team transfer summary Spending
Summer: £ 40,300,000
Winter: £ 5,300,000
Total: £ 45,600,000Income
Summer: £ 104,400,000
Winter: £ 21,000,000
Total: £ 125,400,000Net Expenditure
Summer: £ +64,100,000
Winter: £ +15,700,000
Total: £ +79,800,000
Pre-season and friendlies