Is this really the Premier League's 'Bermuda Triangle'?

ByPrudent Nsengiyumva

BBC Sport journalist

It's the spot wherever points are mislaid and ne'er to beryllium seen again, according to a fashionable societal media meme.

Draw a enactment from Brighton to Bournemouth to Brentford and backmost down to Brighton again and you volition person formed the Premier League's precise ain "Bermuda Triangle".

Those 3 clubs person developed a estimation for taking points disconnected the accepted Big Six - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.

Recent results person lone fuelled the communicative and helped to propulsion the tongue-in-cheek theory.

On Friday night, Brentford bushed Chelsea 3-0. Less than 24 hours later, Brighton outclassed champions Arsenal, albeit by the aforesaid scoreline - though it was a triumph that could arguably person been adjacent much emphatic had David Raya not produced a mates of astute saves.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, pushed Liverpool each the mode earlier falling to a gritty 1-0 defeat, with Alisson forced into a superb betterment halt to contradict the Cherries an aboriginal opener.

Those are the benignant of performances that instrumentality successful supporters' minds and assistance explicate wherefore the mentation has taken hold.

To a point.

Since the commencement of the 2024-25 season, Brighton person been the best-performing non-traditional Big Six broadside against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Manchester United and Spurs, taking 42 points from 26 games - an mean of 1.62 points per match.

The Cherries are not acold behind, collecting 35 points from 26 matches, oregon 1.35 points per game.

Brentford, however, person taken 22 points from 26 matches, averaging 0.85 points per game. Newcastle (1.46), Nottingham Forest (1.46) and Aston Villa (1.38) person each matched oregon outperformed the Bees against the accepted Big Six implicit the aforesaid period.

In different words, the clubs astir commonly grouped unneurotic by the meme person produced precise antithetic levels of occurrence against elite opposition.

Brighton and Bournemouth person consistently taken points disconnected the Premier League's heavyweights. Brentford's grounds is little convincing.

In fact, the Opta information suggests Brighton are the main crushed the mentation has gained specified traction.

Since Fabian Hurzeler took charge, lone Kenny Dalglish's Blackburn person recorded a amended points-per-game instrumentality against the accepted Big Six among managers of non-Big-Six clubs with astatine slightest 10 matches.

The popularity of the Bermuda Triangle thought whitethorn accidental arsenic overmuch astir cognition arsenic results.

When it comes to recruitment and spending, Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford run successful a antithetic satellite to the Premier League's biggest clubs. They cannot simply outspend Arsenal, Liverpool oregon Manchester City.

That makes their victories much memorable. Upsets besides thin to linger longer successful the representation due to the fact that they acceptable a acquainted story: well-run clubs outperforming opponents with importantly greater resources.

The meme is not wholly without foundation, though the grounds is considerably stronger for Brighton and Bournemouth than it is for Brentford.

Brentford's wide grounds is weaker, though a bid of eye-catching victories nether Thomas Frank and present Keith Andrews person helped cement their estimation arsenic a hard hostile for elite clubs. And the commencement to this play has helped: their Chelsea occurrence added to by an opening time 3-0 rout of Spurs.

But the numbers bash not enactment a three-club improvement rather arsenic intelligibly arsenic societal media mightiness suggest.

If determination is simply a Premier League Bermuda Triangle, Brighton beryllium firmly astatine its centre.

The Seagulls' grounds against the accepted Big Six is not simply awesome by modern standards. According to Opta, it is 1 of the champion immoderate non-Big-Six nine has produced successful the Premier League era.

The lone drawback is that the grounds points little to a triangle and much to 1 standout club, with Bournemouth providing beardown enactment and Brentford helping to proviso immoderate of the moments that support the mentation alive.