Alexis Mac Allister scored a 99th-minute penalty to give Brighton a well-deserved victory at home to Manchester United in what was a feisty affair.
The Argentina World Cup winner emphatically dispatched the ball into the top left corner nine minutes beyond the regulatory 90 after Luke Shaw was penalised for handball following VAR intervention.
Albion’s 1-0 win from a pulsating Amex Stadium contest moves them above Tottenham and Aston Villa, while leaving United looking over their shoulders at fifth-placed Liverpool.
The Seagulls sit just four points behind Jurgen Klopp’s Reds with two games in hand thanks to the stunning late twist.
Brighton’s success partially avenges the spot-kick heartache they suffered at the hands of their opponents in the FA Cup semi-finals just 11 days ago and completes a league double over United.
The Seagulls also smashed their club-record top-flight points tally – moving on to 55, three more than they managed in the the 42-game 1981-82 season.
Antony and Anthony Martial wasted golden opportunities for United, who still have work to do to reach European football’s premier club competition next term following a painful climax.
Prior to Mac Allister’s last-gasp breakthrough, Kaoru Mitoma missed the Seagulls’ best opening of a feisty encounter, thumping the ball into the head of David De Gea during a rapid start.
United keeper De Gea was visibly dazed by the unconventional stop but was deemed fit to carry on following on-field treatment.
With plenty at stake in the battle for continental qualification, players from both sides clashed in a heated second half after Antony’s crude challenge on Mac Allister sparked a mass brawl.
United travelled to Sussex with bitter memories of Wembley still lingering in the minds of the high-flying hosts.
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The frantic opening exchanges suggested there would be no repeat of that cagey 0-0 draw, with both sides passing up glorious chances.
Antony fired wide after Bruno Fernandes’ pass carved open Albion’s defence inside two minutes, before Mitoma intercepted an under-hit Victor Lindelof pass and raced clear only to thump his effort into the face of De Gea with Julio Enciso awaiting a tap-in.
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi overcame the illness which led to the cancellation of his pre-match press conference to take his place on the touchline.
The Italian was his usual animated self and…
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