Brighton's win over Nottingham Forest last weekend saw them set a Premier League record of 17 consecutive matches where they have both scored and conceded.

Roberto De Zerbi has taken the Seagulls to new heights since joining in 2022 but is finding it hard to shut up shop on the South Coast.

Ahead of their Europa League clash with AEK Athens tonight, we take a look at the successes and failings of Brighton's aggressive tactics under the Italian.

Goals galore

De Zerbi's outfit have already bagged 28 goals in the top flight this season, the joint-fourth-highest tally behind Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

The Amex residents have also found the net eight times in the Europa League, with just five sides bettering their efforts in front of goal.

Since the former Shakhtar Donetsk head coach took over from Graham Potter, Brighton rank fourth in the Premier League for goals scored (89) and have netted in 29 successive games.

Much of their threat in the final third can be put down to the attacking quality that exists within the squad combined with the manager's aggressive tactics.

Evan Ferguson, Kaoru Mitoma and Solly March have all hit 10 or more goals since September of last year and Brighton are one of five teams to have three players in double figures since De Zerbi arrived.

Work to be done

Although Brighton have not struggled to put the ball in the net this term, 44-year-old De Zerbi is still demanding more from his players.

He said: "I'm proud, but we have not scored enough, because we have had too many chances.

"We have to put the focus on the attackers. I'm speaking about Joao Pedro, Solly March, [Simon] Adingra, [Facundo] Buonanotte.

"This is the first point, and my second point is we are conceding too many goals. Against Luton, Wolves, Newcastle and Manchester United [we shouldn't have conceded]. 

"To concede a goal is not a problem, it's part of football. But we have to consider it [a problem] if we want to improve and progress."

Danger at the back

Injuries are hampering Brighton's full potential — with Tariq Lamptey and Ansu Fati the latest to be sidelined — but conceding goals has still been the club's biggest issue in the last 12 months.

The Seagulls have shipped 71 goals since De Zerbi signed his contract — only Bournemouth (80), Tottenham (73) and Nottingham Forest (72) have been breached more times.

Naturally, this makes their matches highest-scoring in the top flight, with 160 goals being tallied over the last 14 months.

With such a packed schedule in 2023-24, Brighton must find a way to plug their leaky defence if they are to replicate their record-high sixth-place finish from last season.

Catch us if you can

Alan Shearer believes things will eventually work out for last season's FA Cup semi-finalists and admits they are always a joy to watch.

He said: "You're almost guaranteed goals with Brighton and they were back to their best against Forest.

"They were really positive, every time they could they tried to play the ball forward and everyone seemed very comfortable on the ball.

"They commit so many players forward and they may concede at times from that but you know they're going to score."

The Seagulls will be hoping to keep their scoring run going against AEK Athens tonight and a win will guarantee them a spot in the knockout phase ahead of their opponents and Dutch giants Ajax.