When Jaouen Hadjam lashed Brighton’s second goal beyond the reach of Robin Roefs, it sparked a mass exodus.

As the Stadium of Light emptied amid a smattering of boos, and frown lines creased the forehead of the Sunderland manager, Régis Le Bris, the Brighton players and their manager, Fabian Hürzeler, prepared to celebrate.

Undaunted by Pascal Struijk’s second-half red card, Hürzeler’s team had not merely cemented their hold on third place but boosted an already healthy points tally to 13.

This was not quite as fluent as Brighton’s 3-0 deconstruction of Arsenal before the international break, but no one will underestimate them after this.

Sunderland are stuck on four points with only one Premier League victory to their name this season and head for Thursday’s night’s Europa League meeting with Torreense in introspective mode.

More to follow…