Brighton lead Big Six killers as Bermuda Triangle meme falls short

• The Brighton Big Six record leads the Premier League’s so called Bermuda Triangle: 42 points from 26 games since the start of 2024-25.
• Bournemouth have taken 35 points from 26 games against the Big Six, while Brentford have managed only 22 from the same number of matches.
• Opta data shows only Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn side has beaten Fabian Hurzeler’s points per game return against the Big Six among non-Big-Six managers with ten or more matches.

Brighton and the Big Six: how the Bermuda Triangle myth developed

Brentford beat Chelsea 3-0 on Friday night. Less than 24 hours later, Brighton beat Arsenal by the same scoreline, and the meme did its rounds again within minutes.

The label groups Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford as the division’s Bermuda Triangle, the trio where Big Six clubs supposedly go missing every season.

Two wins in a weekend fit that story neatly. The numbers built up since 2024-25 tell a different one.

Brighton have taken 42 points from 26 league games against the Big Six in that time. Bournemouth sit some way back on 35 points from the same number of games. Brentford, despite Friday’s result, have collected just 22 points from 26 matches.

That places Brentford closer to mid table form against the elite than to genuine giant killing. Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa have all matched or beaten Brentford’s record against Big Six opposition over the same period, according to our full report on the Big Six records.

The Bermuda Triangle tag flatters two of its three members far more than the data supports.

The expert angle: Hurzeler matches elite non-Big Six benchmark

The Brighton Big Six record under Hurzeler ranks behind only one manager in the competition’s recent history.

Opta data has Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn as the sole non-Big-Six side to post a better points-per-game return against the traditional six, among managers with ten or more matches in the role.

That is rare company. Dalglish’s Blackburn won the title in 1995 on a squad that regularly took points off the league’s biggest names.

Hurzeler is being measured against a mark few managers outside the traditional six have ever approached, and it points to a coaching and recruitment model rather than one good weekend.

Seen that way, Brighton’s win over Arsenal was not really a shock. It fits a pattern that coverage of the non-Big Six points record has also picked up on this week.

What happens next for the Premier League’s top disruptors

Brentford’s win over Chelsea complicates their own numbers rather than fixing them.

One result lifts their tally from 22 points, but it does not close the gap to Brighton or Bournemouth built up over 26 games. Their underlying record against the Big Six stays the weakest of the three clubs carrying the meme.

For Brighton, the challenge is consistency rather than another one off result.

Hurzeler has already produced a return that only Dalglish has bettered, and every further fixture against the Big Six will test whether that mark holds up over a longer run of games.

Bournemouth, sitting between the other two clubs on this record, remain best placed to close the gap if their form against the traditional six continues.

The label may survive because it is catchy. The evidence says only one of its three members has earned it.

Follow all the latest: Football live: Premier League 2026/27 news, transfers and updates.