Sunderland 0-2 Brighton: Ten men hold firm

Brighton beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League on Saturday 10 October 2026, despite playing much of the second half with ten men. Maxim De Cuyper opened the scoring before Pascal Struijk was sent off after a VAR review. Substitute Jaouen Hadjam added the second goal in stoppage time to secure Brighton’s third successive league victory.

Sunderland came close to taking the lead when Wilson Isidor’s deflected effort struck a post in the first half. That chance showed why Brighton could not treat possession or recent results as sufficient protection. The home side were finding openings, and a goal at that stage would have changed the demands on both teams before the sequence of decisive events after the interval.

Brighton also hit the woodwork before the break. Struijk met a set-piece delivery with a header that struck a post, leaving the match goalless at half-time. The two near misses kept the contest balanced on the scoreboard. Both sides had evidence that a breakthrough was available, but neither had converted the opportunity that would let them begin the second half with a lead.

A goal, a red card and a late counter

De Cuyper supplied that breakthrough in the 53rd minute, finishing low after being found by Groß. It was a useful example of Brighton making their next clear opening count after the earlier header had stayed out. The goal put Sunderland in pursuit of an equaliser, but the visitors had only a short spell in which to enjoy the advantage with their full complement of players.

Four minutes later, Struijk pulled Isidor back as the Sunderland forward threatened to get through. Referee Thomas Bramall initially did not award a foul, but VAR official Neil Davies recommended a review at the pitchside monitor. Bramall then showed a straight red card. The final decision left Brighton to defend a one-goal lead with a numerical disadvantage for the remaining normal time.

The dismissal changed the balance of the second half without changing the score. Sunderland had the extra player and time to search for an equaliser, while Brighton had to reorganise after losing a central defender. Lewis Dunk came on as part of the visitors’ response. Their challenge was to restrict access to goal while retaining enough of an outlet to avoid being pinned back for every remaining attack.

The second goal arrived in the third minute of stoppage time through two late substitutes. Georginio Rutter carried the counterattack forward and waited before releasing Hadjam, who finished for his first Brighton goal. The move turned Sunderland’s pursuit of an equaliser into space for the visitors to exploit. It also settled a game that had remained within reach for the home side despite the earlier breakthrough.

Brighton build on another clean sheet

Brighton’s third straight league win was also their third consecutive league clean sheet. The sequence followed victories over Coventry and Arsenal, so the Sunderland result extended a productive spell rather than standing as an isolated success. Its particular value was the different problem solved: keeping opponents out while down to ten players required a response that the earlier scorelines alone could not guarantee.

Groß again made an important creative contribution with the pass for De Cuyper’s goal. Brighton had threatened from a set-piece before the interval, then found the finish they needed through open play after the break. Rutter and Hadjam later supplied a different form of danger from the bench, allowing the team to finish with a counterattack after spending time defending its lead.

Sunderland suffered a third consecutive league defeat and their fourth loss in six matches. Isidor’s first-half effort against the post gave them a genuine chance to change the afternoon, but they could not turn their numerical advantage after Struijk’s dismissal into a goal. The contrast between getting into promising situations and making them count is more useful to their review than the final margin on its own.