Burnley 1 Brighton 1
The Clarets welcomed Brighton to Turf Moor with Vincent Kompany serving a two-match ban. Burnley went into the game with Premier League survival on their minds, knowing that they needed to put a run of wins together if they are stand any chance of staying up.
Burnley started well and some good link up play between Foster and Odobert saw the winger ghost into the box. He went down under the challenge of Estupinan, demanding a penalty be awarded. The referee was unmoved and not even a VAR review could come to their aid.
Craig Bellamy was running things for The Clarets from the touchline with the manager missing. The hosts continued to press and a cross into the back post found Bruun Larsen unmarked. Unbelievably, he struck his half-volley wide of the goal. Shocking miss.
Assignon then had a shot blocked on the edge of the box but the hosts worked it back out wide to Odobert. He put a teasing ball in across the six yard box but the sliding Fofana just could not convert. This inability to turn pressure into goals will be one of the main reasons The Clarets may go down.
Credit: @premierleague
There have been games this season where they have been played off the park and soundly beaten, but there have been a lot of games they have been in. Sadly for Burnley fans, this is where they just cannot seem to convert their chances and have paid a heavy price for it.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side seemed to come to life in the second half. First of all Adingra ran through on goal but he could not sort his feet out when it mattered and failed to get a shot away. Then Burnley almost became the architects of their own downfall.
As we see most weeks now, a team getting themselves in trouble trying to play out from the back. As Gross received the ball on the edge of the box, his shot was tipped over the bar by Muric in The Clarets’ goal. Nobody was more relieved at this point than assistant manager Bellamy.
Against the run of play, a short back pass to Verbruggen caused the keeper problems. Brownhill chased it down and as the keeper tried to clear, it struck the shins of the Burnley player and ended up in the back of the net. Turf Moor erupted.
It has been a disappointing season for The Seagulls as they struggled to juggle European exploits along with their Premier League form. They certainly have not impressed as they have in previous seasons under firstly Graham Potter and then Roberto De Zerbi.
However, then came a bizarre moment. Berge casually played the ball back to his own keeper, who missed the ball completely as it headed into the back of the net. Muric looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up and who could blame him. It was a disastrous error.
Credit: @premierleague
The Clarets had only managed to stay ahead for a mere five minutes. Three points would have edged them closer to safety but it was not to be. They need to pick themselves up from this for their remaining five games, currently seven points from safety due to their goal inferior goal difference.
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