Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has turned to an unexpected specialist—a mixed martial arts fighter—to help his team toughen up during set-pieces, as he aims to shed the club's 'nice' reputation.
Midfielder Jack Hinshelwood revealed in a BBC Radio 5 Live interview that the Seagulls brought in German MMA fighter Christian Eckerlin earlier this season to teach players techniques for blocking and winning one-on-one duels from corners and free kicks.
"We brought him in because we spoke a lot about set-pieces, blocking, new trends in the Premier League," Hurzeler said. "I don't always want to be known as a club that is nice. In certain moments you need to be quite resilient in personal duels."
Brighton have conceded 13 goals from set-pieces this campaign—one-third of their total—and face a tough test against Newcastle United, who are among the league's most dangerous set-piece teams and possess significant height advantage.
"An MMA fighter always has one-against-one duels. They always need to find a way to beat an opponent," Hurzeler explained. "We try to get ideas from other sports and this was an idea we used. If it stays in a player's mind then that's always a positive thing."
The tactical innovation comes as Brighton look to improve their own set-piece output—only four Premier League sides have scored fewer than their 13 set-piece goals this season. Hurzeler, who previously trained with British boxer Harlem Eubank, emphasized the need to adapt.
"We're never known as recruiting only for set-pieces so therefore we need to find ways to be innovative," he added. "We need to find ways that we can't be beaten that easily against taller teams."