Things were always going to be tight in this battle of two of the Premier League’s more upwardly mobile sides and so it proved until the fifth minute of added time. At that stage, it looked as though Jan Paul van Hecke’s header that cancelled out Raúl Jiménez’s excellent strike would give Brighton and Fulham a share of the points.
But a dramatic late penalty from João Pedro, after he was fouled by the substitute Harrison Reed, with seconds left to play gave Fabian Hürzeler’s side a sixth straight victory in all competitions to lift them up to sixth place – one point behind Manchester City in fourth – and leave Marco Silva fuming at his side’s inability to see out the draw. The Fulham manager stood motionless at the final whistle but admitted they had played a major role in their own downfall.
