Joao Pedro and Simon Adingra claimed debut goals as Brighton set aside Moises Caicedo’s ongoing transfer saga to thrash Premier League debutants Luton 4-1.
Club record signing Pedro doubled Albion’s lead following Solly March’s first-half opener by converting a 71st-minute penalty after being brought down by Hatters captain Tom Lockyer.
Carlton Morris slotted home from the spot at the other end following Lewis Dunk’s handball to set up a tense finale but Adingra capitalised on a dreadful error from Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu before fellow substitute Evan Ferguson sealed the Seagulls’ emphatic victory.
Build up to the contest was dominated by news of Albion accepting a British record transfer fee of around £111million from Liverpool for star midfielder Caicedo amid reports he would prefer to join Chelsea.
The 21-year-old Ecuador international was absent from the Amex Stadium as his current club launched their first campaign to feature European football in commanding fashion.
Luton, back in the top flight for the first time since being relegated from the old First Division in 1992, were second best on the south coast and could have lost by more as Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Ferguson each struck the woodwork.
With Caicedo seemingly heading for the exit, Brighton handed debuts to Mahmoud Dahoud, James Milner and Pedro.
Brazilian forward Pedro, whose every touch was booed by the travelling fans following his £30million transfer from Luton’s bitter rivals Watford, should have opened the scoring inside five minutes but he skewed wastefully wide of the gaping goal.
The clubs were facing each other for the first time since the southern final of the Football League Trophy in 2009, with their only previous top-flight meetings coming during the 1982-83 campaign.
Luton did the double over Albion by an aggregate score of 9-2 back then but remained on the back foot, albeit the hosts appeared susceptible to counter attacks.
Albion eventually turned their dominance of the ball into a lead nine minutes before the break.
Kaoru Mitoma was afforded time and space on the left and his inviting, inswinging cross gave the unmarked March a simple headed finish from six yards out.
Albion’s advantage was almost instantly wiped out as Hatters forward Morris thumped a header too close to home goalkeeper Jason Steele from Ryan Giles’ corner before Welbeck hit the base of the right post at the other end.
Despite their limited possession, Luton, who were a non-league club as recently as 2014, were far from overawed in the first half and went into the break with reason for encouragement.
Gross fired against the outside of the left upright from a wide free-kick early in the second period as Roberto De Zerbi’s men attempted to add to their slender lead.
Brighton were in need of a cushion and it arrived 19 minutes from time when Pedro tumbled under Lockyer’s challenge before, as he had done twice in pre-season, firing into the right corner from 12 yards.
Albion looked set to ease to victory on the back of last season’s club-record sixth-placed finish which secured a Europa League place.
Yet Morris’ successful 81st-minute penalty after a cross from substitute Jacob Brown struck the elbow of Dunk briefly brought back the tension.
However, Ivory Coast winger Adingra, who was loaned to Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise last season, thumped home just four minutes later after Mpanzu inexplicably failed to clear.
Striker Ferguson then rattled the right post with a fine curling effort.
The Republic of Ireland international would not be denied a place on the scoresheet and duly slid home Pervis Estupinan’s low cross deep into added time.
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
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