Brighton are not only leading the Premier League in goals scored but also in the quality of those strikes, setting a new standard for excellence.
Defenceman Lewis Dunk captured September’s Premier League Goal of the Month with a spectacular 35‑yard strike against Coventry. Just five weeks later, an even more remarkable effort has now taken the spotlight.
Enter midfielder Diego Gómez, who unleashed a shot from the halfway line after spotting Crystal Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez out of his goal during Brighton’s dominant 5‑0 victory over their rivals on Sunday.
Benitez rushed back to his line and produced a desperate dive, yet the ball slipped beneath the crossbar.
“From the moment I struck it, I knew it was a goal. He’s taken the club’s Goal of the Season off me,” joked skipper Lewis Dunk.
“That’s the goal of the season so far, what a hit,” commented former Premier League striker Efan Ekoku, broadcasting for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. “It was a superbly struck effort, curling just over the keeper’s head from the centre circle.”
Gómez’s seventh‑minute strike at the Amex put Brighton 2‑0 ahead and measured 51 metres, the longest‑range goal recorded in the Premier League since Wayne Rooney netted from 58 metres for Everton against West Ham in November 2017.
“When I scored, I wasn’t sure where to go or what to do,” said 23‑year‑old Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gómez. “As soon as I received the ball, I saw the goalkeeper was a little ahead, and I was delighted with the finish.”
Former Newcastle goalkeeper and Match of the Day analyst Shay Given described the effort as “reminiscent of David Beckham’s strike for Manchester United against Wimbledon in 1996” and added, “I don’t even blame Benitez, the goalkeeper. In today’s game, with high defensive lines and sweepers, you have to be up for the through ball, and I think his positioning was fine. You have to tip your hat to Gómez – that is a brilliant, brilliant goal.”
