Brighton's Christmas curse endures as Sunderland settle for stalemate at the Amex

Brighton and Sunderland played to a goalless draw at the Amex Stadium, a result that kept both sides in their established grooves and underscored the contrast in momentum for the season's early run-in. The Black Cats, who have prided themselves on discipline and resilience, looked the more purposeful side in the opening 45 minutes, while Brighton, short on ideas in the final third, pushed to find answers after the break but could not breach a stubborn visiting defense.

The fixture, coming off the back of Sunderland’s buoyant derby win, illustrated the challenge Brighton face in December as they search for consistency. Sunderland's performance was notable for its organization and composure in an environment notorious for testing those qualities. The first half belonged to the visitors, who controlled the tempo and pressed a hesitant Brighton side into errors, then weathered a brighter spell after halftime when the hosts tried to coax openings from patient build-up play. In the end, neither team could convert opportunities, and the points were shared.

Key to Sunderland’s approach was their ability to cope without a core group of Africa Cup of Nations participants. Going into this run of fixtures, one of the season’s dominant questions for Regis Le Bris’s side was whether they could maintain performance without six AFCON absentees. Four of those players started the derby win last weekend, underscoring the squad depth Le Bris believes can be relied upon when the tournament takes players away. Le Bris acknowledged the disruption but remained optimistic about the options available: “We won 26 points before the AFCON which is a big achievement and now it's really clear that we will be a bit less composed because we have less players. The players who haven't played so far need time to step up. We trust the mindset and the quality but you can't switch on and be at the level just because we give them opportunities but today they showed that they were consistent.”

Brighton, by contrast, are navigating a December chapter that has become the club’s most stubborn storyline this season. They headed into December just two points off third place, yet the gap has widened significantly as they have collected only two points from their last four matches. The atmosphere around the Amex reflects a growing concern that Brighton’s attack is not firing on all cylinders when the calendar turns to the holiday season. Manager Fabian Hurzeler was candid in assessing the mood after the final whistle: “We are frustrated, but we have to understand that Sunderland were a good side today, they played well, and it is not a surprise that they are where they are in the table. We have to realise that there are big opportunities in the game. The first half was not great to watch, and in the second half, there were enough chances to win the game. Overall, during this period, we want to be successful, so we try to keep pushing to get back to winning ways.”

The attacking balance for Brighton remains a pressing concern. Danny Welbeck, already contributing seven Premier League goals this season, remains the most reliable source of returns for the Seagulls, but his colleagues have failed to provide sufficient support in front of goal. The absence of Jan Paul van Hecke, sidelined by illness, deprives Brighton of a secondary goal threat from defense and some needed solidity at the back of the attack. The continued reliance on Welbeck’s output is becoming ever more apparent as Brighton search for an extra striker in January and for a more dynamic approach to breaking down organized teams. The absence of the defender-turned-attacker van Hecke highlighted the squad’s vulnerability when injuries or illness strike, and it underscored why a January recruitment window looms large for Brighton’s hierarchy.

In the absence of decisive forward moments, the match unfolded as a test of two different approaches to finishing. Brighton’s most tangible chance arrived from a late-cutback play that started with Charalampos Kostoulas delivering a precise pass to Yasin Ayari. The young attacker’s shot, however, sailed well over the bar, a miss emblematic of the day’s end product for the hosts. That moment encapsulated Brighton’s lingering issues: the capacity to create clear-cut chances on a sustained basis and to convert them when the odds are tight.

The day belonged in large part to the goalkeepers, who were busy in both directions as the pace of the game fluctuated. Robin Roefs started for Sunderland and produced the kind of confident display that helps when a team sits deep and invites pressure. He produced an early sharp save to deny Mats Wieffer’s header and remained a steady presence when tested again later in the match. For Brighton, Bart Verbruggen mirrored his opponent’s performance with two important saves in the second half, the first denying a header from Omar Alderete and the second stopping Dan Ballard’s follow-up shot. It was a match that allowed both shot-stoppers to have moments of authority, even as neither could be celebrated with a clean sheet given the stop-start meaning of the contest.

The result ties into a broader season pattern for Brighton. The club’s December record has become the latest chapter in a season that has included a string of near-misses and a growing sense that the squad is missing a consistent, proven game-breaker in attack. Even as Welbeck has delivered in front of goal, the supporting cast has not provided enough support to lift Brighton into the kind of continuous winning run that would ease pressure and restore momentum. The absence of Van Hecke also reinforced how a single illness or injury can ripple through Brighton’s balance, leaving Hurzeler to juggle center-back pairings while trying to preserve a more creative midfield structure ahead of the January window.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have shown that their anti-diagonal resilience and depth can offset significant disruption caused by AFCON departures. The early-season form, which has kept the Black Cats comfortably positioned toward the upper-middle of the table, now faces an examination of how well the squad can maintain intensity when multiple players are unavailable. Le Bris’s assessment of the AFCON impact reflects a broader optimism about the group’s capacity to step into the breach, even as he acknowledged that “you can't switch on and be at the level just because we give them opportunities but today they showed that they were consistent.” It remains to be seen how long Sunderland can sustain this period of relative equilibrium in the absence of several key players, but the result at the Amex suggests they can still compete with teams at Brighton’s level when required.

For Brighton, the calendar continues to swing toward a longer-term test of patience. The club’s December woes do not appear to have a simple fix, and with January looming, the emphasis will likely turn toward not just recruitment but also reshaping the attack to maximize Welbeck’s strengths and to provide a more dynamic supply line for the forward. The 0-0 draw with Sunderland closes another chapter in a season defined by inconsistency, but it also underscores a potential opportunity: leverage the depth of the squad to build a more robust late-wall performance in the second half of the campaign. If Hurzeler’s side can convert a portion of the chances that have eluded them in recent weeks, Brighton could still translate a difficult December into a more stable January.

In the immediate term, both teams take away a measured result that reflects where they stand. Sunderland’s defense and midfield discipline will be a blueprint for ensuring competitiveness in the weeks ahead, while Brighton will need to steady a toothless attack and bridge the gap between talent and execution if they are to sustain their more aspirational targets this season.