Brighton and Hove Albion head into the international break inside the Premier League top two. Albion’s title race continues… can you actually believe that this is a real first line?

A very professional and calm performance, perhaps helped by the red card decision, but Albion dealt with everything incredibly well.

Brentford offered nothing, or at least nothing. Only the late introduction of Callum Wilson gave them minimal hope!

Brentford surprisingly started decently. Some nice short passes, but things took a turn when Albion took the lead decisively. Diego Gomez hit a sweet half volley from 25 yards out high into the top corner.

Most impressively, he scored it with his left foot!

Gomez has always been known for world-class goals, but this one was just as good as any of his others. His remarkable ball-striking ability continues to deliver, and the Paraguayan gave Albion a safety buffer early on.

Shortly after, Brentford were down to 10 men. A controversial sending-off saw Igor Thiago see red. Thiago looked to start the game pretty well, and strangely had a few good moments in the first few minutes of the game.

The Brazilian seemed to hit Chema Andres with a lash out with his arm. Whether he meant to catch Andres in the head is another question, but his arm was high, and it was in a moment of red mist. I would be on the fence to make a decision here, but it did feel very harsh.

Albion doubled their lead before the half-time break after Michael Oliver pointed to the spot to award the Seagulls a penalty.

This one wasn't as controversial, even if it wasn't instantly noticeable in normal time. VAR clearly showed that the on-field decision was correct, as Luka Vuskovic had his shirt pulled and dragged to the ground inside the box.

Most importantly, Pascal Groß dispatched the penalty perfectly, sending it into the top right-hand corner past Kelleher.

Other than that, there wasn’t a great deal to report from an entertainment point of view. Albion had some chances to extend their lead, but breaking out of first gear didn’t seem necessary.

A controlled and reliable identity with good performances across the whole pitch. Even the substitutes in Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh and Jack Hinshelwood were absolutely superb too!

Albion up to second, with 23 goals scored at home and only one conceded. What a time to be a Brighton fan!