Brighton were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Tromsø in their first competitive game of the season, just three days before Aston Villa visit the Amex Stadium.
Fabian Hürzeler’s side dominated possession and territory in Norway but failed to find a breakthrough in the first leg of their Conference League play-off.
Sky Sports described Brighton as looking laboured at times, despite recording 25 shots and 68% possession.
Their attention must now quickly turn towards Unai Emery’s Villa.
Brighton waste chances before Aston Villa opener
Brighton’s attacking numbers tell the story of a frustrating evening.
They produced 25 attempts but only six were on target, while Sky Sports recorded four big chances missed.
Georginio Rutter forced goalkeeper Jacob Haugaard into a save from distance before Ibrahim Osman saw a volley brilliantly kept out moments later.
Olivier Boscagli headed over from a good position before half-time, while Charalampos Kostoulas missed another opportunity after coming from the bench.
Brighton were not completely secure at the other end either.
Tromsø were also credited with four missed big chances, with Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen making an important second-half stop before Luka Vuskovic’s late mistake allowed Isaac Vadebu through on goal. The Tromsø defender fired wide when presented with an opportunity to win the game.
That should interest Emery ahead of Sunday.
Read Aston Villa’s latest predicted XI already highlights how different Villa could look at the Amex, and finding opportunities to attack Brighton’s reshaped defence could become important.
Carlos Baleba misses Brighton draw
Carlos Baleba was absent from the Brighton squad.
Hürzeler had confirmed the midfielder would miss the trip with what was described as a minor injury, while Manchester United continue to pursue his signature.
Hürzeler also left Jack Hinshelwood and Maxim De Cuyper on the bench after both started Brighton’s final pre-season victory over Bologna. They were introduced in the closing stages against Tromsø.
The 0-0 result leaves Brighton with work to do in next Thursday’s second leg.
Before then comes Villa.
Brighton controlled much of Thursday’s European opener, but their inability to turn dominance into goals and the opportunities conceded at the other end have given Emery plenty to study before Sunday’s Premier League curtain-raiser.
