Brighton 2-0 Ajax: Seagulls FINALLY take flight in the Europa League as Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati fire them to their first group stage win against an Ajax side in total disarray

Brighton had to wait. They collapsed and lost against AEK Athens. They came to a point in Marseille, but when the first Europa League victory came, it was all the more fun to be against Ajax.

‘The club that taught the whole of Europe to play football’, as Roberto de Zerbi put it. “If we beat that club, playing the football they taught us makes it a big night for us. Especially because we come from lower-level football.’

Not the mighty Ajax of old, that’s true. Fifty years after Johan Cruyff inspired the hat-trick of European Cup victories, they are a pale shadow of the iconic teams that helped create the legend of Total Football.

Against all their principles, the Dutch aristocrats came to Sussex to face a team playing in only their third time in European football. They sat deep, surrendered possession and hit their hosts on half-time. Enough to make Cruijff turn in his grave, you could say.

As the match neared its end, angry away fans made their feelings clear but took nothing from Brighton on their historic night.

Joao Pedro (left) put them on the road against Ajax and in Europe they are off the map

They mastered this game with a degree of maturity, showing patience when necessary and trying to continue playing the kind of complicated and attractive football they have become known for under De Zerbi.

Joao Pedro jumped for the opener late in the first half and Ansu Fati scored the second early in the second half.

Finally they head out in Group B with the return trip to Amsterdam next, in two weeks they will see an opportunity for progress.

“We have the quality to win the group,” said De Zerbi.

‘We have to win in Amsterdam and we have a chance, but we have to earn it to reach first place in the rankings. We have three tough games to play.

‘The first victory is for our fans, our club, our owner. We have shown an important mentality. It’s a big, big step and I’m very proud of my team.”

Ajax are in the grip of a crisis after starting this week by sacking boss Maurice Steijn after just four months as the team languished at the bottom of the Dutch Eredivisie, and their fragile confidence was evident from the start.

Acting head coach Hedwiges Maduro played without adventure, which has become something of a trend against Brighton. Marseille and AEK employed similar tactics, with some success.

Here, Brighton dominated from the start and struck away. Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj made saves to deny James Milner and Pedro, and Simon Adingra fired a volley over as Lewis Dunk nodded a corner back across goal.

The visitors created only a fleeting threat at half-time, mainly through the pace of former Tottenham striker Steven Bergwijn, but fell behind at the end of the first half.

It was a dominant performance from Brighton, which was much better than against AEK Athens

At Ajax the alarm bells are ringing and the players face the away fans at the end

Mitoma grabbed a nice Dunk pass and forced Ramaj into another save, but the shot came off the keeper and Pedro put the rebound into the net, his first Europa League goal from open play, after three penalties.

They didn’t have to wait long for the second. Adingra made a pass to Fati, whose first touch went smoothly. With his second he placed the ball between the legs of an Ajax defender, past Ramaj and inside the far post.

Fati shot wide again before Ajax got moving and ventured forward. Steven Berghuis hit a post as Brighton wobbled briefly but held on for their first clean sheet since victory at Arsenal in May.