Brighton’s European hopes suffered a huge blow in their final home game of the season when Leeds won 1-0 thanks to a late Dominic Calvert-Lewin goal.
The Seagulls needed a win at Elland Road to seal seventh place, but the English striker capitalized on a mistake to score his 14th Premier League goal of the year.
Jan Paul van Hecke tried to pass the ball back to Bad Verbruggen who was outside the area, but Calvert-Lewin easily intercepted it. When the goal opened up, the Leeds man scored in the 6th minute of stoppage time.
It was Leeds’ only shot on target and was the perfect way for Daniel Farke’s side to end their home campaign after securing Premier League status last week.
Brighton had 19 shots on target and eight on target and you will feel it was a game they should have won. The majority of those shots (13) came in an improved second half after a 45-minute first half that didn’t quite work.
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler told Sky Sports: “The biggest difference is they were lucky and we weren’t lucky today.” “We weren’t that ruthless and defended very well, but it was an unlucky loss.
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Van Hecke’s wayward pass gave Calvert-Lewin a 90+6 minute win against Brighton in the Premier League.
“But we have to accept it, analyze it and continue to prepare well for the last game.”
Karl Darlow was out until the 43rd minute as the Leeds goalkeeper made a fingertip save to deny Pascal Gross’ shot. Moments later, Verbruggen had to stop Lewis from completing a dunk.
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Karl Darlow rules out Brighton’s opener
But after the break, the Seagulls stormed into the Leeds area. Ethan Ampadu had to block Danny Welbeck’s shot when he had a chance, but at the other end the hosts went on to issue a caution of their own.
However, there was another injury concern for Leeds as Anton Stach was stretchered off in the second half. Although he attempted to continue, he eventually dropped out due to profuse blood flowing from his leg, and his chances of being included in Germany’s World Cup squad were thrown into doubt.
Anton Stac injured against Brighton and taken away on a stretcher
Brighton remain seventh, two points behind Bournemouth, who have a game in hand, and one point behind eighth-placed Brentford, who came from behind twice to beat Crystal Palace and draw. Sunderland also defeated Everton and are now in 9th place with 51 points.
This means that the European competition will last until the final day, which is enough for European football at the moment, after Manchester City won the FA Cup on Saturday.
Hürzeller: A painful defeat
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler told Sky Sports: “We controlled the game and had a lot of chances. We should have won the game, but at the end of the day, that’s football and it hurts.”
“We have to face this adversity. We faced a lot of adversity this season and we overcame it, so we’re going to give it our all for the final game.”
“We played better in the second half. We had more fun and attacked with more intent. We had more energy in the second half.
“I’m happy with the performance. I don’t think many teams have as many chances to play against this team here, so we have to stay positive. It’s a very disappointing and painful loss for us, but we’ll keep going.”
Calvert-Lewin: We kept believing.
Leeds goalscorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin told Sky Sports: “It’s a great feeling. It’s a great afternoon for everyone involved as I think all the families are here for the final home game.”
“They were definitely the better team today. They had the most chances and probably should have gone forward, but that’s how football is.
“I just kept believing I could take the next shot and thankfully I was able to put one on goal today.”
Leeds manager Daniel Farke told Sky Sports: “It was a really difficult game today. We had to defend but we kept playing. We defended with spirit, mentality and unity.”
“If you wake up and believe in yourself, even in a game like that, sometimes you only have one chance to win.”
