Brighton ended their six-game winless streak with a comfortable Premier League win over struggling Burnley. The victory lifted the Seagulls to eighth in the table, while Burnley remain 19th, six points from safety, and have now gone 11 matches without a win.
Georginio Rutter opened the scoring in the first half with a low, powerful finish, set up after Yasin Ayari’s effort deflected off 18-year-old Greek forward Charalampos Kostoulas, who was making his first top-flight start. Burnley offered little going forward and quickly fell further behind when Ayari scored himself just over a minute into the second half, taking advantage of a poor pass from Lesley Ugochukwu.
Burnley’s substitute Loum Tchaouna had their best chance, but his header was brilliantly saved by Brighton goalkeeper Ferdi Kadioglu and hit the crossbar. Meanwhile, Brighton fans cheered loudly as Pascal Gross made his return to the team a day after coming back from Borussia Dortmund. Maxim de Cuyper nearly added a third goal late on with a free-kick that struck the post, highlighting Brighton’s dominant performance.
The result gives Brighton momentum to build on after their recent struggles, while Burnley continue to face a tough fight to avoid relegation under Scott Parker.
