With less than a quarter of the season remaining and no time to waste as both Brighton and Newcastle look to fortify their precarious spots in the Premier League, the importance of this Saturday night six-pointer was clear for all to see. Only Brighton lived up to the occasion, producing a sublime performance to batter a pedestrian Newcastle 3-0 at the Amex and move six points clear of Fulham in the relegation zone. Only one point separated Brighton and Newcastle in 16th and 17th place before Saturday night. Despite their similar standings, it would be difficult to find two relegation contenders in such contrasting moods. In recent months, Newcastle have been shrouded in gloom as they have fallen down the table, with insufficient quality in the final third, injuries to key creative players and the sad sight of Steve Bruce’s side producing two wins since December. Conversely, even as Brighton have been sucked into an unwelcome relegation battle, they continue to exude calm and belief in their long-term vision with Graham Potter at the helm. This cold night in Falmer was an affirmation that sometimes the league table does indeed lie. It is a reality that Bruce himself was still reeling from afterwards. “I was absolutely shocked at basically Brighton being that far in front of us in every department tonight,” said Bruce. “We simply didn’t do enough. That’s the biggest frustration.” The first half progressed as expected, with Brighton easily dominating possession by methodically building into the box with slick, short passing combinations. What could have been a typically promising yet fruitless first half was instead elevated by the blossoming talents of Leandro Trossard, the outstanding player on the pitch. First he created the best chance of the opening 35 minutes by finding Neal Maupay, whose shot was blocked, with an excellent cross. Then, as a feeble first half from Newcastle took a turn for the worse with Isaac Hayden being forced to leave the pitch after suffering a knee injury, Trossard took the game into his own hands, landing the first blow via an exquisite opening goal. He delicately controlled a long ball before belting a right-footed shot from the edge of the box, which whistled into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. For Newcastle, this was simply yet another meek, sad performance without a hint of fight. They were dire on the ball, rarely even foraying into the home team’s half. They managed only two pitiful touches in Brighton’s box in the first half, had one shot and 25% possession. Their form could only improve and for one fleeting moment it did. Early in the second half, the away side generated a sweeping move into the final third, ending with Miguel Almirón finding Ryan Fraser in space on the left. Fraser’s finish grazed the post and bounced out. Any hope that Newcastle would have been able to build on their first clear chance was immediately snuffed out. Moments later, Danny Welbeck picked up the ball on the left, cut in on to his right foot and then bent a searing, 25-yard strike into the right-hand corner. Brighton finished the game firmly in control and were, for once, clinical when it mattered. After a long passing sequence among the entire Brighton team, Pascal Gross fed a cross to Maupay, who finished off the move with a brilliant, lunging volley. It was fitting. A team that had been so often defined by their poor finishing produced three superb, varied goals in quick succession to win one of their biggest games of the season. Afterwards, Bruce shrugged off the debate about his continued employment. “As I’ve always said, that’s for other people to answer,” he said. “The one thing I won’t ever do is give up on anything because we’ve had a bad defeat. We’ve been OK, I believe, we haven’t been sensational over the last weeks. But tonight I have to accept the criticism which will come my way and the fallout from it.” A look ahead underlines just how timely and important such an excellent performance was for Brighton and how damning this lifeless display was for Newcastle. Next for the home side is a brutal three-game run against Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea. Newcastle still have Tottenham, West Ham, Liverpool, Arsenal, Leicester and Manchester City ahead. While Potter’s side will have the opportunity to tackle their storied opponents with renewed confidence, hope for Bruce’s Newcastle continues to fade.