Luton scored twice in the opening two minutes and 17 seconds en route to a stunning 4-0 win against Brighton at Kenilworth Road.
Aided by a superb hat-trick from striker Elijah Adebayo - priced at 500/1 pre-match by Betfair - this was comfortably the hosts’ biggest Premier League win and their most commanding performance.
It was earned in swashbuckling style as they dismissed an insipid Brighton to move out of the relegation zone for the first time in nearly two months.
Chiedozie Ogbene also netted during a first half in which Roberto De Zerbi’s side simply could not cope with what came their way, a shadow of the team that won the corresponding fixture 4-1 on the opening weekend.
And there it is!
— Betfair (@Betfair) January 30, 2024
A Betfair punter has just turned £2 into £1,000 thanks to Elijah Adebayo's hat-trick 👏 https://t.co/GXuIeenesZ
Luton made a start beyond manager Rob Edwards’ most rose-tinted expectations.
Adebayo headed his first after 19 seconds. Ogbene received the ball on the edge of the box and crossed to the far post towards Carlton Morris.
The Hatters captain, leaping determinedly above his marker, nodded back across goal to Adebayo, who got there before goalkeeper Jason Steele to convert.
Brighton barely had time to draw breath before it was two.
Albert Sambi Lokonga’s pinpoint pass dropped in behind the visitors’ defence, which had pushed up, leaving a straight race to the ball between Ogbene and Steele.
It was won comfortably by the fleet-footed Luton winger who toed it beyond the keeper and, with 137 seconds on the clock, poked into an empty goal to cap a breathtaking start.
Rarely, if ever, have Brighton under De Zerbi been so blown away as they were in the opening 25 minutes.
Adebayo’s second and Luton’s third was a gem and owed everything to the timing of the striker’s run, hanging just behind Brighton’s defensive line until Ross Barkley released his pass.
The finish ripped past Steele at his near post.
A night that @LutonTown will never forget ✨#LUTBHA pic.twitter.com/Ez5gxqTkF0
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 30, 2024
Brighton had won three of their previous 15 league games, success this season season being propped up by progress in Europe and in the FA Cup.
Here, they showed nothing of the form that saw them start the campaign with five wins out of six.
Luton’s goals were getting easier to come by.
In the 55th minute Adebayo completed his hat-trick, heading in Alfie Doughty’s corner from amongst a static Brighton defence, the only movement towards the ball coming from striker Joao Pedro who inadvertently flicked it into his opposite number’s path.
Thomas Kaminski made a late save from Danny Welbeck which was worthy of his outfield team-mates’ efforts.
For Brighton, it had been a chastening night.
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