How it happened: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Leicester City
Brighton and Hove Albion took on Leicester City off the back of a great run of games and a sweet late goal last week against Brentford.
The Foxes posed a big threat as they have been by far the dominant team in the head to head, not losing to Brighton before in the Premier League with two draws and six wins in the last eight meetings.
However, the Seagulls arrived at the Amex having made a terrific start to the season and with a squad full of confidence, ready to change the tide of the fixture. If there were ever a day for Brighton to end their barren run against Leicester, this looked like it.
Graham Potter lined the team up with a change in defence, Joel Veltman coming in for the injured Adam Webster. Veltman formed a three man defence alongside captain Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy.
Marc Cucurella made his home debut on the left, looking to continue his form from last week in the 1-0 win at Brentford.
Adam Lallana and Yves Bissouma were paired in midfield with Solly March on the right and a threating trio of Leandro Trossard, Danny Welbeck and Neal Maupay led the attack.
The most exciting bit of team news was saved for the bench, where Tariq Lamptey returned to the squad for the first time since December, sitting amongst the substitutes after finally recovering from injury.
Leicester mounted early pressure on Brighton but the Albion looked to manage it well and absorbed the offense. As the game continued, the Seagulls began to turn things around and change the momentum of the game with March forcing a big save from Kasper Schmeichel.
Not long afterwards, a big shout for hand ball from the Brighton players led to a VAR review and a penalty being awarded in favour of the Seagulls.
Maupay stepped up to take the penalty and with precision put it away to give Brighton a 1-0 lead. The Albion went into the half time break with that single goal advantage.
The second half kicked off in good fashion as Welbeck was determined to put Brighton further ahead. He made it a two goal advantage in the 50th minute after a great cross from Trossard set up the finish.
After an hour of play the Foxes were motivated to strike back through a Jamie Vardy shot at goal. That put them firmly back in contention, leaving the result up in the air and a nervy final half an hour for the home crowd.
Potter sought to break Leicester’s dominance by bringing a change to the midfield and the shape, Enock Mwepu replacing March not long after the Vardy goal.
The game closed out with its fair share of heart stopping moments and spikes of entertainment. Leicester were twice denied goals after both were overruled by the linesman’s offside flag, much to the delight of the Brighton crowd with many sighs of relief.
Robert Sanchez stepped up to play his role as he made a super save to deny Harvey Barnes from scoring a late equaliser in the 82nd minute as Brighton looked to close out the game.
After five painfully long minutes of additional time, the Seagulls celebrated a wonderful victory over the Foxes. Three more valuable points had been secured thanks to a Potter masterclass, leaving Brighton sitting in a mesmerising fourth place in the Premier League table after five matches.
Next week, the Seagulls look to continue their strong start to the campaign with the derby fixture against Crystal Palace. Potter will be seeking his first win as Brighton manager over the Eagles. Stay tuned for more How it Happened from Selhurst Park.
