Brighton vs Crystal Palace in the Premier League from the Amex Stadium - Sunday, 2pm

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said his German midfielder Pascal Gross is always one step ahead.

The Seagulls continued their positive start to the new campaign with a 4-0 win over Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris in the Conference League on Thursday night.

Hurzeler’s team are third Premier League table and full of confidence ahead of the Crystal Palace fixture, after beating champions Arsenal 3-0 at the Amex Stadium before the international break.

German midfielder Gross leads the way for both assists and chances created in the Premier League so far. Hurzeler, though, is not surprised to see the 35-year-old turning out such consistent displays.

Gross is so sharp in the mind

“How he came back after this (international) break was just impressive,” Hurzeler said at a press conference. “He looked so fit, so sharp, looked so ready and also not only regarding his body, also regarding his mind, how he spoke, which messages he said me, to the team, to everyone.

“We saw a different phase already from him (in pre-season), and then it is just a progression on the pitch, a progression during the season. Of course, no one expected that it will be that good, but it also shows that he has still all this capacity in his body.

“The second part for me is his understanding of football – he understands so well in which space he has to be, he understands the game plan so well, he understands the different dynamics on the pitch.

“And sometimes he is just one step further than his opponent, so he might be not the quickest player, but he can be the quickest with the head – and sometimes being the quickest in the head is very helpful, and I think that is especially for him a good fit.”