Ten-man Brighton & Hove Albion maintained the pressure on the Premier League’s top four by holding out for a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.
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The Seagulls scored early in both halves, with goals from Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma sealing the points at the Vitality Stadium.
Just four minutes had elapsed when Joao Pedro put Fabian Hurzeler’s side in front, while the Brazilian turned provider for Mitoma in the 49th minute.
The visitors had to stay disciplined after Carlos Baleba was sent off for a second bookable offence but did so to see out the victory after David Brooks halved the deficit in stoppage time.
Brighton move up to fifth place on 22 points – level with Chelsea and Arsenal, who they trail on goal difference – while the Cherries drop a place to 13th and remain on 15 points.
The visitors started quickly, and Kepa Arrizabalaga could only parry Georginio Rutter’s fierce drive straight to Joao Pedro, who tucked away the rebound from close range.
Bournemouth pushed for an equaliser, and Evanilson had the ball in the net on 41 minutes, but his joy was cut short as the offside flag went up against Justin Kluivert in the build-up, with VAR confirming the onfield decision.
The visitors then doubled the lead within four minutes of the restart – Mitoma latched onto Joao Pedro’s delightful throughball to slot past Kepa, with the goal confirmed following a VAR review.
However, they were reduced to 10 men in the 59th minute, with Baleba, who had tugged back Evanilson in the first half, shown a second yellow card after catching Milos Kerkez late.
Bournemouth pulled a goal back in stoppage time through substitute Brooks’ neat finish, while Antoine Semenyo's volley rattled the crossbar with the final kick of the game, as Brighton hung on.
Cherries picked off as home streak halted
Bournemouth were aiming to win four successive Premier League home games for the first time in their history, having impressively beaten the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City on their run thus far.
However, Brighton clearly took some encouragement from the fact they have only registered one clean sheet this season and exploited that.
The Cherries were undone by their opponents’ first meaningful attack, with Joao Pedro in the right place to clinically finish after Kepa spilled Rutter’s strike straight to him.
Andoni Iraola’s side responded well and could have been on level terms at the break if not for poor finishing by Semenyo and Kluivert and smart saves by Verbruggen.
However, the hosts were powerless once again when another slick move saw the Seagulls double their lead.
Bournemouth struggled to capitalise on their numerical advantage after Baleba’s red card but did eventually break down the stubborn Brighton defence via Brooks in the 93rd minute.
They have mounted comebacks already this season, but the woodwork denied them a dramatic equaliser, with Semenyo’s thumping volley crashing against the crossbar in the dying moments.
Buoyant Brighton just about build on momentum
Brighton travelled to the Vitality Stadium fresh from their impressive turnaround against reigning Premier League champions Man City before the international break.
The Seagulls were also yet to draw a blank on the road this season, and their confidence was evident as they quickly settled into their rhythm.
Their neat spells of possession soon unlocked the Bournemouth defence, and Hurzeler would have felt confident when the first chance fell to the in-form Joao Pedro.
The Brazilian was not done there though, as he threaded the eye of a needle with his precise pass to release Mitoma for the second goal – notching up an eighth direct goal involvement in his last nine Premier League appearances.
Despite their two-goal lead, the Seagulls had to increase their concentration levels when Baleba was sent for an early bath just before the hour mark.
While Bournemouth applied the pressure, Brighton’s advantage never really looked under genuine threat until stoppage time, though their hearts will have been in their mouths after Semenyo’s late chance.
However, Hurzeler’s side subsequently breathed a huge sigh of relief, as they stayed well in the hunt for a top-four place, with only an inferior goal difference preventing them from sitting any higher.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
12 | +9 | 22 |
| 4 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
12 | +9 | 22 |
| 5 |
Brighton
BHA
|
12 | +5 | 22 |
| 6 |
Spurs
TOT
|
12 | +14 | 19 |
| 7 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
12 | +2 | 19 |
| 8 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
12 | 0 | 19 |
| 9 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
11 | +2 | 18 |
| 10 |
Fulham
FUL
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
Match reports
Bournemouth report | Brighton report
What the managers said
Iraola: "I think we played quite a level game but especially first half I think we were better than Brighton."They scored, it was small margins [with the offsides], we hit the crossbar at the end, it has been this kind of game.
"We had enough time [to equalise], we continued pushing, probably with the substitutions it cost us some time and we tried until the end but we couldn't get the goal."
Hurzeler: "In the second half we changed a little bit and player really good, scored the second but then we get the red card. We can't accept that honestly because you can't give the yellow card [for that].
"It is also the strength of the team that they stayed together and we keep learning from bad experiences in the past. I'm proud of the team today.
"There is no surprise [at the progress] or expectations. It is belief in the process and the guys. If you see them work every day you see an unbelievable work ethic. When you are a man down you have to stick together and support each other. We can improve on a lot of points but I believe in the process.
"It's important now to stay humble and stay grounded because their game could go in a different direction today.
"Stay humble. Stay hard workers because that is our identity. We have a vision of where we want to go but it is important to go step by step.
"This league is unpredictable and things can change immediately. We must work hard and keep focused on the process."
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Brighton have won four of their six Premier League games since the beginning of October (D1 L1), as many victories as across their 19 league matches prior (D7 L8); no top-flight team have won more points than the Seagulls in that period (13 – level with Liverpool).
Today’s loss ended a run of three straight home wins in the Premier League for Bournemouth while four of their five losses this season have come by just a single goal; only Tottenham (5) have lost more top-flight games by a one goal margin this season than the Cherries (4).
João Pedro has scored in three consecutive Premier League starts for the first time while he also is the first player to both score and assist in successive appearances in the competition for the Seagulls.
Bournemouth’s David Brooks has scored four goals in five Premier League appearances against Brighton, the only opponent he has netted more than once against in the top-flight.
