Brighton soared up to second in the Premier League after seeing off 10-man Brentford, but Pascal Gross was quick to dismiss any suggestion the Seagulls are emerging as title contenders.

Diego Gomez opened the scoring after 15 minutes with another spellbinding strike, before Igor Thiago's red card for violent conduct left Brentford with an even bigger mountain to climb.

After Keane Lewis-Potter tangled with Luka Vuskovic inside the penalty area, Brighton were awarded a spot-kick and Gross made no mistake, rifling into the top-right corner.

The Seagulls never looked troubled thereafter and have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last 10 Premier League victories, including all seven of their wins this season.

Gross, once again instrumental on Sunday, however, was keen to keep expectations in check despite Brighton's lofty position in the table.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "No. We are not in a title race.

"We have started the season really well. It's the beginning of the season though.

"You see the Premier League, the margins, you look at the results. We are not getting carried away yet. Every game we have to suffer a lot."

Fabian Hurzeler was not quite as dismissive when speaking to Brighton's official website.

"My staff did an incredible job this week." 

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@BHAFC) November 8, 2026

The German said: "They [the fans] should always be excited if they watch our games, and that's our job, to make them excited.

"I always say they can dream, they can have high expectations of us, but these are things we can't control."

Hurzeler added that incremental improvement remains Brighton's primary objective.

"There are moments and phases in the game where the individual players, but also the whole team, can improve, and that's the main focus for us," he said.

"It was from the beginning, and it also be the case now, and for the rest of the season."

Keith Andrews, on the other hand, was far more critical of his Brentford side and called for greater discipline following another costly red card.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Andrews said: "We've lost two games this season, and both have been on occasions when we've had a man sent off.

"We look in the mirror first and see how we can do things slightly better."

Andrews also suggested Igor Thiago's dismissal was indicative of a wider issue within the modern game.

"It's the opposition player that's antagonised the situation," he said. "I think it's a sad indictment of where the game's going at times.

"I'm very unhappy with a lot of the players' reactions in the current game."

The flashpoint came after Chema Andres fouled Thiago, with the Brentford striker then sent off following a VAR review, which deemed he had forcefully pushed his forearm into the face of the Brighton midfielder.

The Bees return to the Gtech Community stadium after the International break against Everton, while Brighton will look to ride their momentum against Hull City.