Fabian Hurzeler: Kaoru Mitoma ‘has everything’ after key role in Brighton’s Manchester United win.

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler thinks Kaoru Mitoma “has everything” following the left-winger’s key contribution in the 3-1 victory over Manchester United. Mitoma restored Brighton’s advantage in the second half, becoming Japan’s Premier League record scorer with 15 goals, surpassing former Leicester striker Shinji Okazaki, who assisted Yankuba Minteh’s early breakthrough. Hurzeler stated, “When Kaoru is always active away from the ball, when he knows how to use his speed to do the deep run with the right timing at the right moment, then he is a big, big player.”

“Because he owns everything. He is quick, good one-on-one, can score goals, and solve problems in tight places in short amounts of time. “I am very pleased to be working with him. He is a terrific listener. I’m not a big admirer of statistics, but this one is really nice, and I have to congratulate him. Mitoma also scored in the 2-0 victory over Ipswich on Thursday. Georginio Rutter scored his fourth goal in three games off the bench to seal the win for Brighton.

Hurzeler stated: “I am not surprised. The performances in the last several weeks, when we had a number of draws, have been quite positive. We did not receive the results we wanted or even deserved, but we were really mature today. “We struck a decent balance between defensive play and possession control. “The only time we were too passive was after scoring the first goal.” Brighton are back up to ninth place in the table, having won a hat-trick of away games in all categories after going eight games without a league win, a run that began with a 4-0 FA Cup triumph over Norwich. They return to league action on Saturday, hosting Everton at home.

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