Premier League: Brighton stun Spurs in six-goal thriller

EAST SUSSEX: Brighton & Hove Albion stunned Tottenham Hotspur, triumphing 4-2 in a thrilling end-to-end match here at Falmer Stadium.

Brighton climbed to eighth above Newcastle United, moving six points behind Spurs, who have missed the chance to return to the top four.

Brighton almost went ahead inside seven minutes, with Welbeck forcing Guglielmo Vicario into two fine saves in the space of a minute. Five minutes later, Joao Pedro did brilliantly down the left-hand side before finding Hinshelwood in space, and the teenager’s powerful shot flew past Vicario into the roof of the net, Premier League reports.

Brighton doubled their lead on 23 minutes. From a corner, Jan Paul van Hecke crashed a header against the crossbar and in the process Welbeck was pulled back by Dejan Kulusevski, with a penalty being given after a VAR review. Joao Pedro made no mistake from the spot.

Brighton chased a third goal and Milner hit the post with a curling shot before Buonanotte had a goal ruled out for offside and Vicario made another good stop to deny Joao Pedro. Richarlison hit a post for Spurs at the other end, but the Seagulls went into the interval with a deserved two-goal lead.

Spurs came close to making a dream start to the second half, but it was their turn to be thwarted by the offside flag after Richarlison put the ball in the Brighton net. On 54 minutes the Brazilian went close again, firing a low shot just wide of Steele’s post.

Moments after Richarlison had another goal disallowed for offside, Estupinan, who replaced Igor Julio at the break, unleashed an unstoppable 30-yard shot into the top corner to mark his return from almost two months out with a memorable goal.

Another Joao Pedro penalty added to Spurs’ woes, the Brazilian confidently stroking the spot-kick home following a clumsy challenge by Giovani Lo Celso on Evan Ferguson.

Brighton appeared to be cruising to victory, but the match took a sudden twist as two goals in five minutes for Spurs gave them hope of an extraordinary comeback. Summer signing Veliz scored his first Premier League goal, and Davies then headed in from Pedro Porro’s cross.

Nine minutes of stoppage provided more hope for Spurs, who pushed forward in a bid to rescue an unlikely point. But in the end Brighton survived the late pressure to seal a deserved win.