Hurzeler breaks record as Brighton make flying start

A wonderful start for the wunderkind. A first Premier League win for the first manager who is younger than the division itself was so comprehensive that Brighton fans could chorus about being top of the table. By the time Fabian Hurzeler was born, Goodison Park had already been staging Premier League football for several months. The precocious 31-year-old kicked off his valedictory season by steering Albion to a debut victory that served as an advertisement for their boldness in hiring him.

- RICHARD JOLLY

For Brighton, it was a blend of new and old. Yankuba Minteh, provider of their first goal, is a 20-year-old debutant; Danny Welbeck, scorer of the second, is in the unusual position of being two years older than his manager. Albion reaped an early dividend for plucking Hurzeler from St Pauli to replace Roberto de Zerbi. After winning promotion to the Bundesliga in his native Germany, elevation to the Premier League seemed to suit him.

If the fixture calendar suggested he could be greeted with a culture shock, an inimitably Dychean welcome to the division, Sean Dyche was instead defeated and his side depleted. Everton ended last season with five straight wins at Goodison Park but both they and Dyche have made too many slow starts to campaigns in recent years. This now has the makings of another.

And Brighton's youth was too much for Everton's aged, and their young. As Ashley Young became the oldest outfield player in their history, he was sent off. The 39-year-old compounded his poor touch by tugging back Kaoru Mitoma when the Japanese was through on goal. It amounted to a simple decision for referee Simon Hooper to dismiss him.