Danny Welbeck made an instant impact from the bench as Brighton registered a third-successive Premier League win by beating fellow European hopefuls Bournemouth 2-1.
With both sides dreaming of qualifying for continental football next season, substitute Welbeck rolled home a 75th-minute winner, having just come on in place of Joao Pedro.
Pedro won and converted an early penalty to put the Seagulls in front at the Amex Stadium before Justin Kluivert rifled home a thunderous, second-half leveller for the Cherries.
Brighton’s victory, which followed emphatic successes against Chelsea and rock-bottom Southampton, lifts to them eighth place on 43 points, below their opponents only on goal difference.
Defeat for Andoni Iraola’s visitors was a second in succession and ended their seven-game unbeaten away run dating back to early November.
Bournemouth travelled along the south coast without the services of suspended defender Illia Zabarnyi following a failed appeal against his disputed weekend red card during Saturday’s surprise 1-0 loss to lowly Wolves.
Midfielder Tyler Adams and winger David Brooks were recalled in place of Zabarnyi and Marcus Tavernier, prompting a backline reshuffle involving James Hill and captain Lewis Cook, while Brighton handed a full Premier League debut to Diego Gomez as part of two changes from their 4-0 weekend triumph at St Mary’s.
January signing Gomez was heavily involved in a bright start which brought a 12th-minute breakthrough.
Moments after releasing Kaoru Mitoma, who poked agonisingly wide, the Paraguay midfielder produced another incisive pass, which led to Pedro being brought down by Cherries goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Referee Michael Oliver duly pointed to the spot and Pedro calmly sent Kepa the wrong way to find the bottom-left corner from 12 yards.
Bournemouth boss Iraola, who hailed Brighton as “one of the best teams of the league” during his pre-match press conference, was visibly frustrated by the penalty award.
His side suffered a further setback when creative midfielder Ryan Christie was replaced by Alex Scott due to injury before Antoine Semenyo was denied an equaliser by the knee of Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
As the entertaining, end-to-end action continued amid some robust challenges, Albion were unfortunate not to double their advantage in the 37th minute.
In-form winger Mitoma volleyed into the ground following Tariq Lamptey’s cross from the right, only to see his effort rebound off the right post.
Iraola brought on Tavernier for Brooks following the break in a bid to generate some attacking spark.
Bournemouth began the second period with greater intent and levelled in spectacular fashion in the 61st minute.
Kluivert collected the ball from Milos Kerkez wide on the left before driving forward, cutting inside Lamptey and Yankuba Minteh to unleash a stunning drive into top-right corner in front of the travelling fans.
Buoyed by the eye-catching equaliser, Bournemouth looked certain to snatch the lead just eight minutes later.
Substitute Scott appeared set for a tap-in at the back post after Tavernier’s initial effort from the left deflected across goal but he was beaten to the loose ball by stretching team-mate Dango Ouattara, whose attempt was repelled by Verbruggen.
That miss became more costly 15 minutes from time when Brighton decisively regained the lead as Welbeck, who missed the weekend win at Southampton through injury, stylishly announced his arrival.
The former England forward was slipped in by Georginio Rutter and took a touch before coolly finishing via the right post.
Cherries keeper Kepa connected with a Kluivert delivery after being sent up for a corner during five minutes of added time but Brighton avoided a dramatic late twist to hang on for a precious three points.
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...

Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...

David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...

Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...

Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...

Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...

Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...

Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...

Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...



- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender