Coventry City became only the second team in Premier League history to lose their opening four matches of a season without scoring after suffering a heavy 5-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Despite the optimism surrounding their return to the top flight for the first time in 25 years, Coventry have found the step up in quality difficult to handle. They were almost caught out early on once again when Jay Dasilva’s loose defending at the far post saw him inadvertently steer a cross into the path of Diego Gomez, who could only fire a powerful effort wide.

Brighton quickly established control and came close to taking the lead twice in the 18th minute. Charalampos Kostoulas first sent a shot into the side netting before Malick Yalcouye poked an effort straight at former Brighton goalkeeper Carl Rushworth.

Frank Lampard’s side eventually created an opening of their own midway through the first half, with Jack Rudoni heading narrowly over from Ephron Mason-Clark’s delivery.

Rudoni threatened again moments later after arriving unmarked at the far post, forcing Bart Verbruggen into an excellent one-handed save.

By the half-hour mark, Coventry had begun to take control of the contest and Verbruggen was called upon again, producing another superb intervention to tip Frank Onyeka’s dangerous volley over the crossbar.

However, Coventry’s inability to make their pressure count proved costly. Brighton punished them moments later when Kostoulas created space inside the penalty area before firing a precise finish into the bottom-left corner.

A comeback was always going to be difficult for Coventry, and their situation worsened just 10 minutes after the restart when Yalcouye got ahead of Aurele Amenda to collect a loose ball, raced into the box and fired a finish into the near corner.

Brighton’s dominance continued to grow, and Coventry were reduced to 10 men almost immediately from the restart. Taiwo Awoniyi caught Maxim De Cuyper with an elbow and was shown a straight red card.

Brighton continued to press forward and were rewarded with a third goal from the penalty spot. Bobby Thomas brought down Kostoulas inside the area, allowing Pascal Gross to step up and confidently convert the spot-kick.

With the contest effectively decided, Coventry’s main objective was to end their long wait for a league goal. Despite being a man down, they came close when Brandon Thomas-Asante’s half-volley was denied by another strong save from Verbruggen.

Brighton, however, were not finished. Lewis Dunk produced a spectacular moment, unleashing a stunning 30-yard strike to make it 4-0.

Yasin Ayari added a fifth in stoppage time to complete an almost flawless Brighton display and bring an end to their three-game winless run away from home in the Premier League.

For Coventry, the defeat leaves them at the bottom of the table, with their next opportunity to open their account coming away to Nottingham Forest next Saturday.