Joao Palhinha hit a stunning second-half equaliser to earn a point for Fulham in a 1-1 draw at Brighton.
Fulham then survived a late onslaught to maintain their unbeaten record against the Seagulls from all seven of their Premier League meetings.
Roberto De Zerbi made six changes from Brighton’s Thursday night victory over Ajax and his refreshed side dominated possession in the first-half as Evan Ferguson expertly slotted home in the 26th minute.
However Fulham began to wear the hosts down and became bolder with their approach in the second period before Palhinha crashed a wonderful effort from the edge of the box high into the net.
How Fulham hit back at Brighton
Brighton dominated possession from the outset and had Bernd Leno to thank for flying to his left to push away Carlos Baleba’s shot from the edge of the box and then deny Simon Adingra from close range.
Baleba, Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma all shot off target within four minutes of each other as the Brighton onslaught continued. Fulham kept giving possession back to the hosts and Joao Palhinha showed his frustration, catching Pascal Gross in the face with a stray arm that went unpunished.
Brighton, though, finally went ahead when Igor Julio intercepted Harrison Reed’s forward pass and the centre-back found gross, who moved it on to Ferguson and he coolly guided a low shot into the bottom left corner.
Fulham did improve in the final stages of the first-half although it took Lewis Dunk hitting the crossbar from a free-kick shortly after the break and then the introductions of Andreas Pereira, Rodrigo Muniz and Harry Wilson to really spark them into life.
Joao Palhinha equalises for Fulham at Brighton
Brighton were being overrun in midfield as Fulham pushed higher up the pitch to stop them playing out from the back and it was Alex Iwobi who won the ball deep in the home side’s half before finding Wilson, who teed up Palhinha to slam a perfect strike into the top right corner.
Muniz then saw his clever close-range flick saved by Jason Steele with Brighton wobbling. However, the hosts recovered for the final 10 minutes, seeing substitute Ansu Fati denied by Leno and had a certain goal prevented by Antonee Robinson from Adam Webster’s header.
More to follow…
What’s next?
Brighton are back in action next Saturday with a trip to Everton, kick-off 3pm. They then travel to Ajax on Thursday November 9 in the Europa League, kick-off 5.45pm.
Meanwhile, Fulham face a trip to Ipswich in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm. They then host Man Utd on Saturday November 4, kick-off 12.30pm.
