Brighton 4-1 Luton: Roberto De Zerbi’s move to the top of the table after beating the Hatters on their return to top-flight football following goals from Solly March, Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra and Evan Ferguson

The entire Luton XI had a combined 63 Premier League games worth of experience. Brighton had 1,621 worth on the show and James Milner alone accounted for 620 of those.

Luton by Rob Edwards has no delusions of grandeur. They know how difficult this season, their first in the top flight in 1992, will be. They realize they are favorites for relegation. They accept that they are fresh fish swimming in a tank full of sharks.

Come what may, they are determined to try, though this was a sobering reminder of the task ahead. Brighton, even without the rowdy Moises Caicedo, was unforgiving.

“We’re top of the league,” chanted the home supporters after watching Solly March, Joao Pedro, Simon Andringra and Evan Ferguson tear Luton apart. They are.

Roberto De Zerbi was his usual self on the sidelines, unleashing hell on his own staff. He is a great tactician and his standards are higher than ever, even though they lost talented players over the summer and are still losing.

Joao Pedro scored the second goal of the match from the penalty spot on Saturday

Brighton celebrate with Joao Pedro after scoring their second of the game against Luton

The cover of Brighton’s program featured Milner. The back featured Caicedo, still listed as one of their players until £111m changes that fact. Within the pages, owner Tony Bloom’s column praised the attitude of Alexis Mac Allister, now of Liverpool, and the service of Robert Sanchez, now of Chelsea. There was no mention of Caicedo, who is being chased by both clubs and losing friends in Brighton amid that saga.

Without Mac Allister and Caicedo, Brighton’s midfield consisted of Pascal Gross and Mahmoud Dahoud. Milner, the 37-year-old debutant, was right back.

Brighton should have scored the opening goal of the season after five minutes when Gross selflessly cut the ball back into the penalty area rather than shoot. He thought he was signing his club’s new club record £30 million for a tap-in, only for Pedro to somehow miss.

When March made a quick throw in on the right, he shot through Danny Welbeck, whose shot was comfortably saved by Luton’s Thomas Kaminski.

Nevertheless, Brighton took the lead after 35 minutes. It takes some effort to stop De Zerbi when he’s in the middle of the rant, but this goal did just that. The manager was angry about his team’s build-up play and unleashing hell on his staff in the back room behind him. “Why are you doing this…” it sounded like he was yelling. Until the Amex interrupted him. Kaoru had passed Mitoma and March had crept in behind Amari’i Bell to go home for 1-0.

The Zerbi stood still and stared at the festivities. They had their first lead of the new season, Mitoma and March picked up where they left off.

Still, Luton could have equalized within two minutes when Carlton Morris’ header was disallowed by the legs of Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele. A warning that the visitors were still there, still trying, still believing.

Carlton Morris got Brighton thinking after making it 2-1 from the penalty spot

Brighton thought they had scored again when Pervis Estupinan – that left-back who likes to fly forward – fired a low cross into the penalty area. Welbeck reached out to meet him, but the ball bounced back off the post.

After the break, Mads Andersen was booked for body checking Pedro and left Brighton with a free kick to the left of the box. Gross took it and hit the nearest post.

In the 62nd minute, March tested Kaminski before Welbeck was wiped out in the area. VAR Robert Jones paused play to watch and saw that it was his own teammate Mitoma who had crashed into the striker.

Jones got another job to do in the 69th minute. Referee David Coote awarded Brighton a penalty when Pedro had fallen under pressure from Luton captain Tom Lockyer. It looked soft indeed, but VAR decided there wasn’t enough to reverse the original decision.

James Milner had a solid display in his first Premier League game since joining Brighton

Pedro stepped up to make it 2-0 and found the right corner past Kaminski.

A lifebuoy for Luton in the 78th minute. Jacob Brown’s cross was blocked by Lewis Dunk’s arm. Penalty kick, said Coote. Hard maybe, but Luton will take all the help they can get.

Morris stepped up to score for 2–1, Luton’s first ever Premier League goal.

Just when Luton hoped their first game back in the top flight would have a fairytale ending, a mistake by Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu proved costly.

Mpanzu is the figurehead of Luton’s remarkable rise. He was key to their promotion from the Conference, then League Two, then League One, then the Championship, and here he made a well-deserved Premier League debut. But unfortunately he will definitely remember this day when he tried to pass to a team-mate, only to give Brighton substitute Simon Adingra a chance to score. He did just that and made it 3-1.

Brighton made it 4-1 in stoppage time and how easy that was. Estupinan crossed, Ferguson tapped in and with that, Luton’s return to the top flight ended in a battering.

Evan Ferguson added a goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time for Brighton