Manchester City appear to have dimmed the light of Brighton, as Roberto De Zerbi’s side slumped to another defeat away against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries were tactical in their approach throughout the affair, and they did well enough to curtail the visitors.
Andoni Iraola’s side exuded clinically in the encounter, and it was enough to see them through to a hearty victory on their home turf.
Despite having a player cautioned early in Marcos Senesi, Bournemouth never lost their guard, as Senesi went on to get them the needed opener in the 13th minute.
A cross was swung into the area by Adam Smith, and it looked to have been met by Unal Enes, however, it touched the body of a Brighton player and went up, with Marcos Senesi on hand to head the ball into the net from yards out.
Brighton’s best opportunity in the first period fell to Facundo Buonanotte but he couldn’t convert, after dancing through in space and a subsequent opportunity to shoot at goal.
Unfortunately, Buonanotte struck it late at the right post, with Bournemouth goalie Mark Travers blocking effortlessly.
Bournemouth cruised into the break with a 1-0 lead over Brighton and Hove Albion
Iraola’s side went into the break leading by that lone goal and contented over their display in the opening half.
Manager of the Seagulls, Robert De Zerbi, immediately introduced Danny Welbeck for Mark O’Mahony after the restart, but still, they endured a torrid next 45, as Brighton frustrated them and their efforts in the second duration.
Enes Unal, who provided the assist for the opening goal in the first period, penned his name on the score sheet in the 52nd minute, following a cross from Dango Ouattara.
Unal met the cross of Ouattara with a glancing header that found the top-left corner.
Justin Kluivert was booked subsequently in the 57th minute, while Brighton’s Billy Gilmore and Valentin Barco were the subsequent players who were booked in the 59th and 66th minute respectively.
Six minutes after the hour mark, a substitution was made by Brighton, with manager Roberto De Zerbi introducing Julio Enciso for Simon Adingra, while Bournemouth also made theirs with Ryan Christie entering the fray for Enes Unal.
Subsequently, De Zerbi was also forced to make 2 other changes, as Joel Veltman also got his day under the sun, replacing Odel Offiah.
Adam Webster also got on board for Igor in the 74th minute, while the hosts also responded with their change 3 minutes later, as Alex Scott was substituted for Max Aarons.
Justin Kluivert put the icing on the cake for Bournemouth
Three minutes before the end of normal time, the Cherries sealed the victory, as they put the icing on the cake through Justin Kluivert.
Kluivert received a sublime pass from Christie in the 87th minute, and he cut back in before doing some great moves and finishing off the opportunity greatly.
Brighton knew the game was far gone at that point despite the introduction of Carlos Baleba for Joao Pedro in the 88th minute.
The culminating changes in the clash were made by Bournemouth, with James Hill coming on for Marcos Senesi, while Dominic Sadi also had a few minutes under his belt, as he was introduced with Justin Kluivert going the opposite direction, following his impressive outing in the encounter.
The win for Andoni Iraola’s side moves to 10th on the log with 48 points from 35 matches, an equal number of points as Chelsea, who have played 2 games less, and it becomes their highest point accrued in a season in the Premier League thus far.
Meanwhile, Brighton, who are now on a six-game winless run, sit 12th on the log with 44 points from 34 matches, and they are 19 points adrift of the relegation zone, however, qualifying for Europe might be an uphill task for them as things stand.
Anyway, it was a great game of football, with the more tactically and clinically sound side securing the win at the end of the day.
