After the return of supporters to top-flight grounds, our reporters reflect on the impact at the matches they attended
The Amex’s reopening could not have gone more perfectly to script. Brighton’s comeback sparked wild celebrations in all four stands but the atmosphere had been electric from the first whistle. Everyone present seemed desperate to make up for lost time and there was barely a pause for breath even when, having heartily booed Riyad Mahrez seconds before he created the opener, they saw Manchester City pull ahead. Although we will never know for sure, there was a strong sense that the ferocity of the reaction when Danny Welbeck went down under João Cancelo’s challenge made it easier for Stuart Attwell to issue the latter a gamechanging red card. To seasoned watchers of closed-doors football at Brighton it was clear throughout that the game’s intensity was several notches higher in front of such exuberant backing. Nick Ames
