Simon Adingra scored his first goals for Brighton during a 2-0 win over Brentford in the Premier League Summer Series in Atlanta.
The Ivorian who joined the club last summer but spent the year on loan away, made an impact for the Seagulls by taking both of his goals very well.
There was a number of impressive showings for Roberto De Zerbi's side, while Moises Caicedo made his first pre-season appearance amid interest from Chelsea.
Our man CRAIG HOPE was at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to bring you his five talking points.
IT ALL AD-S UP WITH SIMON…
Expect to see a lot more of Adingra this season. The 21-year-old Ivorian is yet to make a senior appearance for Brighton after spending last season on loan at Belgian sister club Union SG, where he scored 14 times.
The winger is super quick and, when opening the scoring in the first half, he looked more like an Atlanta Falcons wide receiver as he bent his run infield before racing onto a downfield pass from goalkeeper Jason Steele, Brighton’s very own quarterback. Adingra collected the dropping ball in one swift movement, rounding Brentford keeper Mark Flekken and then showing the composure to steer just inside the post form 25 yards out. The goal drew gasps of appreciation in the press box and beyond.
His second goal, just before the hour, was equally impressive, opening his body like Thierry Henry to roll into the bottom corner. A picture of cool.
Adingra joined the Seagulls last summer in a deal worth around £6million from Danish club Nordsjaelland and, on this evidence, that is money extremely well spent. They really do have a canny knack of unearthing future stars on the South Coast.
PED’S WAY AHEAD…
But the player they’re really excited about at Brighton is Joao Pedro. As well they might at a club-record £30m from Watford this summer, and he could not have looked any sharper here in the States.
The Brazilian has taken the No.9 jersey, but we should expect to see him operating right across the front three, so versatile is his skillset. When you have pace, power and trickery it makes sense to drift into different areas - and Pedro will hurt teams from all over the park.
We saw him run in behind Brentford’s defence here, and minutes later collect the ball on the touchline before burning by opponents. He looks like a complete forward.
MO GO?
Moises Caicedo made his first appearance of pre-season when he came on after 65 minutes. The Ecuador midfielder is Chelsea’s primary target, but they won’t go beyond £80m - and Brighton want £100m.
Chelsea played straight after this game and their staff were in the stadium when, with 10 minutes remaining, Caicedo needed lengthy treatment from Brighton’s medical team. It wasn’t clear what the issue was and there would have been a few nerves on both sides of this transfer divide.
Thankfully, Caicedo had been poked in the eye - not that he was thanking anyone for the poke - but at least he avoided serious injury and was soon back on the pitch. Even in short time he was there, the 21-year-old did enough to remind us just why Chelsea are so sweet on him. The expectation remains that he will be a Blues player come the end of the transfer window.
MAN OF STEELE…
Jason Steele was impassable in Brighton’s goal. The spirit of the Premier League Summer Series so far has been that goals have flowed. Steele hadn’t signed up for that and kept the first clean sheet of the competition in its fourth game.
He was one of four Premier League goalkeepers to get an assist last season and he had another here. It wasn’t a long ball either, it was a pass, superbly flighted for team-mate Adingra. That was before he made a string of saves to frustrate Brentford, whose forward Yoane Wissa will be glad to see the back of him.
It was a surprise to some when Steele replaced Robert Sanchez as No.1 last season, but you can see why Roberto De Zerbi made that call - his handling and footwork are both superb.
MERCEDES MILES BETTER…
We thought the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia was impressive - but this is another level again. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium is truly stunning. With the roof closed and air-con on there was no intrusion from the outside elements, where the sunshine was broken by a brief downpour before kick-off.
They flew grass in especially for these games - the pitch is usually artificial - and that will be ripped up in the coming days. However, the locals say that this was a test run for the World Cup in 2026, when again grass will be needed.
That concern apart, this venue ticks every box - America really does do stadiums well.