Brighton defeated Burnley 2-0, ending their six-game winless streak, making their 11-game winless streak the longest in the Premier League.
The Seagulls deserved to win at the Amex before half-time as Burnley limited them to just one shot on target, but Scott Parker went to the bench and substitute Rum Chauna sent a shot wide of the goal line and over the bar from a corner.
Barring that improbable comeback, coupled with Wolves’ stunning 3-0 win over West Ham at Molineux, Scott Parker’s side would currently have the Premier League’s longest winless streak, having not tasted victory since beating Leeds on October 18 last year.
Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal told Sky Sports: “As a team we are weak and we are not as good as we are. We lack belief and this game is not good. I think everyone is a little confused.”
“It’s hard to put it down to one thing, but the mindset of all of us on the pitch, our personalities, our duels and everything else – the way we fight, how we get through the game. We all understand that we’re not really there, we’re not really involved in the game.”
Brighton looked in complete control for the majority of the match and the two-goal cushion they won with goals from Georginio Rutter and Yassin Ayari was well worth it.
Rutter started and finished the move that led to the opener, with a half-cleared cross deflected out onto the track before his powerful shot found Martin Dubravka in the far corner.
Burnley had just one shot on target before half-time and were still 1-0 up, but faced their own struggles within 68 seconds of the restart.
Ayari intercepted Leslie Ugochukwu’s square ball as it crossed his own box, skipped over Florentino and then beat Dubravka again with a sweet strike.
The introduction of Marcus Edwards briefly reinvigorated Burnley, but Choana’s shot from Lucas Pires’ corner went quickly off the line and Ferdi Kadioglu hit the bar.
But even then it was too little, too late, as Brighton maintained their comfortable win to move up to eighth in the table, just five points behind fourth-placed Liverpool.
Their afternoon was further enhanced by the second debut of 34-year-old Pascal Gross. He came on for the final 20 minutes and received an enthusiastic welcome from the home supporters.
“It was really good. Before I came on the boys did a good job and were up 2-0 so it was nice to come on and get the win,” he told Sky Sports.
“But it was an incredibly emotional two days with the signing and the first home game today. It was really special and I’m glad we won.”
Parker backs Ekdal over lack of conviction
Burnley head coach Scott Parker told Sky Sports:
“We were inferior in every aspect. The biggest thing was that we felt like we were a team that lacked belief. I wouldn’t have said that before, but of course the last few weeks we haven’t had the results we wanted. We were consistent there, but today we weren’t.”
“Sometimes we lose games in this division, but our overall play and attitude was something that needed to be corrected immediately.”
Haseler: You have to make your own luck
Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler told Sky Sports:
“It wasn’t a great match, but it was a good performance. Overall, we are happy with the performance.
“Luck doesn’t come by. You have to do the little things right. We got a little bit lucky with the way we scored, but (Rutter) kept pushing and was always there so we deserved it.”
“I realized that the fans love[Pascal Gross]! He has proven great in the past, but now he has to focus on the present.”
