Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler says Kaoru Mitoma “has everything” after the left-winger’s influential role in the 3-1 win at Manchester United.
Mitoma restored Brighton’s lead in the second half to become Japan’s record Premier League scorer with 15 goals, overtaking former Leicester striker Shinji Okazaki, having assisted with the cross for Jankuba Minteh’s early breakthrough.
Hurzeler said: “When Kaoru always stays active not near 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 has everything. He is fast, he is good one against one, he can score goals, he can find solutions in narrow spaces with not a lot of time.
“I am really happy to work with him. he is a good listener. I am not a big fan of statistics, but this statistic is very nice and I have to congratulate him.”
GO DEEPER
Kaoru Mitoma finally looking his old self after taxing second Premier League season
Mitoma also scored in the 2-0 win at Ipswich on Thursday. Georginio Rutter came off the bench to complete Brighton’s victory with his fourth goal in three games.
Hurzeler said: “I’m not surprised. The performances in the last few weeks when we had a lot of draws have been very positive. We didn’t get the results we expected or maybe deserved, but today we were very mature.
“We had a good balance between defence and controlling the game in possession. The only phase when we were too passive was after scoring the (first) goal.”
Brighton are back up to ninth in the table, having completed a hat-trick of away victories in all competitions following eight games without a win in the league, a run launched by a 4-0 victory over Norwich in the FA Cup. They return to league action at home to Everton on Saturday.
GO DEEPER
The Brighton blip is over, not that anyone was panicking – this club has been here before
(Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
