Brighton closed in on fourth place as they produced one of the most comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Evan Ferguson set up Roberto De Zerbi’s side for victory with a superb flicked finish, while substitute and fellow teenager Julio Enciso sealed the deal in injury time. The win leaves Brighton in sixth place but brings them within four points of Manchester United in fifth and Tottenham in fourth. More importantly, De Zerbi’s team has two games in hand against Tottenham before their match in north London on Saturday.
The only negative on another fantastic night for Brighton was player of the match Moises Caicedo limping off in the second half with a lower leg injury, despite De Zerbi dismissing fears of a lengthy layoff, calling the issue “not a big problem” and confident Ecuador international will play on Saturday. Bournemouth, who kept Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele busy, slide back into the bottom three, although the struggle for survival remains fierce.
With a paucity of goalmouth action in an end-to-end opening period prolonged by referee Darren Bond’s need for assistance with his communication equipment, the visitors showed their class with Ferguson, their 18-year-old striker, finishing like he had been playing in the Champions League for years. Kaoru Mitoma delivered the cross, and the Republic of Ireland striker finished calmly into the bottom-right corner from roughly seven yards.
Yet, Bournemouth rallied admirably to the setback and should have leveled the score. Before joining the Seagulls on loan, Dominic Solanke stung Steele’s palms. After being slipping away by Jefferson Lerma, Sassuolo midfielder Hamed Traore wasted prodded wide and was then thwarted by a brilliant block from Adam Webster. Early in the second half, Brighton captain Lewis Dunk came near to sending the ball into his own net under pressure from Solanke, but Lerma’s dipping effort from the edge of the box was turned over by Steele’s fingertips. Afterward, David Brooks made his first home appearance since being diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s cancer in October 2021.
But, as the game progressed, Brighton seemed more likely, assisted by De Zerbi’s astute substitutions. Cherries goalkeeper Neto made a fantastic save to deny Pascal Gross before Caicedo left in distress after colliding with Philip Billing. Danny Welbeck, who replaced Ferguson, almost put the game out of reach seven minutes from time when he was denied by Neto after good work from Mitoma and Solly March. Enciso, a 19-year-old attacker from Paraguay, was left to secure the victory. He took a feed from Gross and calmly stroked home his club’s first goal.
“His [Ferguson’s] main quality is to score, which is a very important quality, but I believe he has the capacity to improve in other areas of the field, to play with other players, and to contribute more to the team,” Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi said. “In my job, I have to produce results, but I also have to assist my players in improving and progressing. But I believe Evan can help us meet our goal. I’m proud of him, and I believe the same can be said for our club’s scouting. He has the potential to be a fantastic player.”
“We blew several significant opportunities. In the first half, they converted one of the most difficult shots. When you open up spaces, Brighton has a good side. We gave it our best shot,” Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil said. “We were proactive against a strong opponent. Overall, I thought the game was there for us, but we didn’t take advantage of several excellent opportunities.”
The top four Premier League teams advance to the Champions League group stage. Fifth-place finishers and FA Cup winners go to the Europa League group stage. The Carabao Cup champions go to the European Conference League playoffs. If Manchester City, Manchester United, or Brighton win the FA Cup and finish in the top five, their Europa League qualifying berth will be given down to the next highest Premier League finisher who does not qualify for Europe, so sixth place. Similarly, because Manchester United won the Carabao Cup and are expected to finish in the top five, their Europa Conference League qualification position from that competition will be awarded to the next highest Premier League finisher who does not play in Europe.
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