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Premier League | Gameweek 34
May 1, 2021 at 3pm UK
Falmer Stadium
LL

Brighton
2 - 0
Leeds

Gross (14' pen.), Welbeck (79')
Gross (76')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Ayling (88')

Brighton 2-0 Leeds: Gross and Welbeck boost Seagulls' survival hopes

:Headline: Brighton 2-0 Leeds: Gross and Welbeck boost Seagulls' survival hopes:
Pascal Gross opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Sports Mole

Danny Welbeck netted a sublime goal as Brighton took a significant step towards Premier League survival by ending Leeds' six-game unbeaten run with a deserved 2-0 win.

Former England forward Welbeck rifled home 11 minutes from time at the Amex Stadium after executing a perfect Cruyff turn on a dropping ball to secure a precious three points for the Seagulls.

Pascal Gross put Albion on course for only a third top-flight home success of the season by converting an early penalty after Ezgjan Alioski hauled down Welbeck in the box.

Albion's victory piled further pressure on 18th-placed Fulham in the scrap for safety and would have been far more comfortable had Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay not spurned golden chances.

Mid-table Leeds, who were without influential midfielder Kalvin Phillips, had plenty of possession on the south coast but fell well below their dynamic best and created little.

Defeat for the West Yorkshire club brought to an end their best top-flight run since the days of David O'Leary in November 2001 and dented their outside hopes of European football.

The surprise absence of England midfielder Phillips was a major talking point ahead of kick-off, while Brighton defender Ben White returned from a one-match ban to face the club with whom he won the Sky Bet Championship title during a standout loan spell last season.

Leeds were back in Sussex for the first time since suffering an embarrassing FA Cup third-round exit up the A23 at League Two Crawley in January.

Brighton won 1-0 at Elland Road six days after that match and began with the intensity of a team eager to ease relegation fears by recording a league double.

Trossard tested Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier twice in quick succession in the early exchanges before the Seagulls ended a three-game goal drought to edge ahead.

Alioski clumsily upended Welbeck in the area and Gross confidently found the bottom left corner with the resultant spot-kick, despite Meslier going the right way.

The visitors gradually worked their way back into proceedings but were extremely fortunate not to fall further behind five minutes before the interval following a defensive wobble.

A quick Pascal Struijk free-kick deep inside Leeds territory led to the under-pressure Diego Llorente being dispossessed by Welbeck and, after the ball was worked back across the area, Belgium forward Trossard somehow blazed high and wide with the goal gaping.

With Brighton having dropped 20 points from winning positions this term, head coach Graham Potter would have been concerned to see more chances come and go.

Welbeck flashed a low shot across goal just before the whistle, while Joel Veltman rifled over immediately after the restart.

Leeds top scorer Patrick Bamford was isolated for much of the afternoon and was replaced by Rodrigo on the hour mark as Marcelo Bielsa sought greater spark in pursuit of a leveller.

Despite the attacking alteration, the chances continued to be concentrated at the other end of the field.

White headed on to the roof of the net against his former side, while unmarked Frenchman Maupay – who has four career goals against Leeds, including the winner in the reverse fixture – wastefully scuffed wide after being expertly teed up by Trossard.

Brighton's inability to put the game to bed meant the result remained in the balance going into a nervy final quarter.

Stuart Dallas, who has seven goals for the season, volleyed narrowly over as Leeds briefly threatened to snatch a draw.

Albion fans were eventually able to breathe a collective sigh of relief just before the contest entered the final 10 minutes courtesy of Welbeck's moment of magic.

Defender Struijk hoisted a clearance into the air and, as he went to close down the loose ball, Welbeck expertly whipped it away from him with a deft touch before smashing low across goal into the far corner to claim his fifth strike of the season.

Albion's welcome victory was a first in five games and prolonged Leeds' 12-year wait for success in Brighton

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds38257670284282
2Leicester CityLeicester38264874344082
3Ipswich TownIpswich38249580493181
4Southampton36227773472673
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381991059362366
6Norwich CityNorwich381871369541561
7Hull City371610115346758
8Coventry CityCoventry3715121059431657
9Preston North EndPreston37168134954-556
10Middlesbrough38166165352154
11Cardiff CityCardiff38165174351-853
12Bristol City39148174345-250
13Sunderland38146184845348
14Watford381212145351248
15Swansea CitySwansea381210164858-1046
16Millwall381110173650-1443
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn38119185164-1342
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth381011175462-841
19Stoke CityStoke38118193553-1841
20Queens Park RangersQPR381010183650-1440
21Birmingham CityBirmingham38109194259-1739
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield38815154261-1939
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38115223061-3138
24Rotherham UnitedRotherham38311243077-4720
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