Brighton & Hove Albion claimed a historic first win in European football following their 2-0 victory over Ajax to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Europa League knockout stages.

It’s the Seagulls’ first time playing at this level of football, and they lost their first game in Group B at home to AEK Athens. They then tied at Marseille.

But on a famous night at Amex Stadium, they beat European veterans Ajax thanks to goals from Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati.

Bob de Zerbi, Brighton’s manager, told TNT Sports, “We got our first win in Europe.”

“It is a great day for our fans, our club, our owner and we are very proud to give them this day.”

Just before halftime, Pedro scored his fourth goal in the Europa League by driving in a loose ball after Kaoru Mitoma’s great shot was saved by Diant Ramaj in goal for Ajax.

After the break, things got even better when Brighton scored a beautiful second goal. Simon Adingra played a beautiful pass to Fati, who took two touches inside the box and then put the ball into the corner of the net.

As Steven Berghuis hit the post for Ajax, he reminded Brighton not to let their guard down. It was one of the visitors’ few chances, though, as the Seagulls won easily in the end.

Fans of Brighton will always remember these times.

In 1994–95, Ajax won their fourth European Cup. At the same time, Brighton had just finished their 16th season in the third level of English football.

The fact that the Seagulls are playing such famous teams at a tough time in their history shows how far they’ve come in recent years. On Thursday, the stadium was packed with fans for what was without a doubt the hottest ticket in town.

Fans were told to wave their scarves in the air before the game, which made for a great atmosphere. But once the game started, they had to be patient.

Ajax, who are second-to-last in the Eredivisie after having the worst start to a season in their history, sat deep to make their opponents frustrated. It almost worked until Mitoma’s magic moment gave them the lead.

Brighton got past the crowded defence before the Japanese forward cut inside and hit a hard shot that was blocked and went in for Pedro to score.

The home team became more confident after that, and Fati’s great goal in the second half gave Brighton fans reason to be proud of this historic moment.

Photo by EPA/VINCE MIGNOTT