Brighton Hove Albion 2-0 Barnsley

Glenn Murray has scored five goal in the Championship so far this season

Glenn Murray netted twice as Brighton eased to victory and condemned Barnsley to a second successive league defeat.

The 32-year-old finished off a scintillating break to give the hosts the lead after 12 minutes.

Murray then doubled the Seagulls' lead just after the break as he headed in Jiri Skalak's free-kick.

The visitors struggled to find a way through the resolute Brighton defence, with David Stockdale getting down well to save Josh Scowen's shot late on.

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Brighton's first goal came from a Barnsley free-kick, with Anthony Knockaert collecting the cleared ball and racing away before setting Beram Kayal free, who then passed across goal to give Murray the simplest of tap-ins.

The home side continued to attack but had to wait until the second half for their second, with Skalak's pinpoint free-kick taking the deftest of touches off Murray's head and nestling in the far corner.

Barnsley, who are just outside the top six, were forced to wait until the 75th minute for their only shot on target, but Stockdale was equal to Scowen's shot from the edge of the box.

Albion's third successive league win, following wins over Huddersfield and Burton, lifts Chris Hughton's side up to third in the Championship table.

Brighton manager Chris Hughton:

"I think it was Glenn's best all-round performance in terms of his goals, his runs and his overall play.

"Glenn went through a few games when he wasn't at this level. That was when we were trying to bring in another player.

"At this stage, five goals is a very nice return and it's about maintaining that performance level. He won't do that game in, game out, but it was nice to see and I really enjoyed his performance."

Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom:

"We knew that we would need to be at our very best but we are disappointed with our performance and it was flat.

"We were poor with the ball in the first half and needed more energy to pass but we didn't play with any intent.

"We need to get back to previous displays; we are realistic enough to know what we are up against."