Match Report: Brighton & Hove Albion v Leicester City

Joe runs us through Leicester’s win at the Amex stadium looking at the Foxes’ bounce-back following their exit from Europe earlier in the week and the ongoing struggles at home for the Seagulls.

Brighton may be sitting in the European places in the expected goals league, but their struggles on the pitch continue and their place in the table reflects that. Having only won a single home game this season, things were looking up for the Seagulls after they took an early lead against an injury-ridden Leicester who had recently tumbled out of Europe. But despite good possession stats and an abundance of chances on goal, Leicester snatched all three points off the hosts at the Amex on Saturday night after a calamitous mistake from goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez, who only earlier this week extended his contract with the south coast side. Brighton have now dropped 17 points from leading positions this season. The Seagulls’ fans will no doubt start to question where the points will come from as the teams around them pick up points, dragging them further into the relegation scrap.

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With just ten minutes on the clock, Neal Maupay saw of a shoulder barge to slot the experienced Adam Lallana through on goal who made no mistake from 15 yards out – a calm finish sending Kasper Schmeichel one way and slotting the ball into the opposite corner – a composed finish which is a rare sight for Albion fans this season. With the return of the English maestro who boasts an impressive 34 England caps, the Seagulls looked to have greater leadership and a clinical edge further up the field where the ever-reliable Captain, Lewis Dunk’s voice, struggles to reach to spur on the inexperienced Brighton front line. The ex-Liverpool man showed Graham Potter what he could provide for the south coast side if he can remain fit and see off the injuries which have riddled his career.

Lallana nearly doubled the Albion’s leader later on in the second half after striking the post from a header following a pinpoint delivery from Brighton’s German assist king, Pascal Groß. Leicester’s 19-year-old Sidnei Tavares had the Foxes’ best chance of the half with a long-range shot which had Sanchez at full stretch in the Brighton goal. With the best chances falling to the Seagulls, Potter’s men were flying high going into the break.

With two thirds of the game gone a neutral wouldn’t be blamed for backing Brighton to finally build on their abysmal home form and cash in some xG, but after 62 minutes a defence splitting through ball from Youri Tielemans found Kelechi Iheanacho and the ex-Manchester City forward dispatched the equaliser with minimal fuss.

With just ten minutes to go and only a handful of chances since Iheanacho’s equaliser, Brighton brought on more experience in attack with the introduction of Danny Welbeck. With just ten minutes of playtime, the premier league veteran can be forgiven for not making too much of an impact. His biggest contribution was being involved in the build-up of another chance for Adam Lallana which was at a far too comfortable height for Schmeichel in the Leicester goal.

Despite leading in the first-half, Brighton was on their way to picking up a valuable point against a Leicester side pushing for a European place. A slide tackle from Lewis Dunk on Jamie Vardy late into the second half wasn’t overturned by VAR and it looked like a bit of luck was finally coming Brighton’s way. But then, in the 87th minute, all of Brighton’s hard work was undone after Robert Sanchez flopped at Marc Albrighton’s cross leaving the net gaping for Daniel Amartey to head home his first goal of the season.

The experience and professionalism of Leicester meant there was no reply from Brighton in the final few minutes of the game and the depleted foxes side picked up a valuable three points in their push for European football next season. As ever with Brighton, the neutrals will point to the stats, chances created and xG, but the Albion fans will certainly still be looking over their shoulder as relegation looms despite recent good performances on the pitch.