Southampton were controversially denied a go-ahead goal in what would’ve been a huge and first away win of the season, instead drawing Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 at the Amex Stadium on Friday to kick off Week 13 of the Premier League season.
Kaoru Mitoma put Brighton ahead in the first half but Flynn Downes had an answer in the second half before a long VAR review became the story of that half.
Saints appeared to go ahead 2-1 in the 67th minute when substitute Ryan Fraser’s cross was snapped home at the back post by Cameron Archer.
But wait — a late flag deemed Archer offside. The VAR review found Archer to be level with the ball, but further review then found Adam Armstrong to be interfering from an offside position when his desperation back leg flick missed the ball before Archer put the ball home.
And so both sides find themselves disappointed, as Brighton had a chance to take sole possession of second place on the table while Saints are trying to climb out of 20th place.
Brighton do go second, ahead of Man City on alphabetical order, with 23 points. Chelsea and Arsenal lurk behind with 22 points each. Southampton move onto five points, four away from 17th place.
Unlucky Saints stay unlucky ahead of rough stretch
We’ve seen this a few times from this Southampton side — a decent performance that does not get the rub of the green whether it’s a bounce or a referee’s call (or three). You can see all that was controversial about the call to rule out their would-be winner in the video below, but it’s getting easier and easier to make the comparisons between Vincent Kompany’s Burnley and Russell Martin’s Southampton. The football is decent and the players are talented, but there’s a lot of youthful mistakes and a lack of experienced star power. Neutrals don’t mind seeing Saints on their viewing schedule, but they need to continue to grow and fast-forward the maturation if possible. Between Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling, Mateus Fernandes, and others, there’s a lot to like here. But five points after 13 games cannot be sugar-coated. With Chelsea, Villa, and Spurs next, will Martin be around to oversee the next winnable stretch? Fulham, West Ham, Palace, and Brentford are the Londoners on the docket for 12 points starting Dec. 22.
Seagulls slip, can’t make most of breaks
Reread the opening — Brighton had a chance to be alone in second place to kick off Week 13 of this Premier League season, and they couldn’t get a win over the 20th-place side despite getting a controversial break that denied visiting Saints a 2-1 second-half lead. It was wet and nasty, and — yes — Brighton took 22 shots to Southampton’s 10, but the Seagulls needed to be more clinical in front of goal and make the most of the 2-3 mistakes in possession committed on a near-weekly basis from the young Saints. And they would’ve wanted to take advantage of what Saints would have to deem their fourth-string keeper, as Joe Lumley had to step between the sticks and make four saves after Alex McCarthy joined long-term absences Aaron Ramsdale and Gavin Bazunu on the injured list. An off day? Sure, but three points at home against Southampton are points that will often be collected by Brighton’s fellow top-four chasers this season. Saints played well away from home and credit them for that, but Fabian Hurzeler will know his men need to do better when they head to Fulham at midweek.
Brighton vs Southampton player ratings
(from fotmob.com)
Brighton vs Southampton player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Brighton vs Southampton player ratings (from fotmob.com)
What’s next?
Southampton host Chelsea at 2:30pm ET Wednesday, while Brighton go to Fulham at 2:30pm Thursday.
How to watch Brighton vs Southampton live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Friday (November 29)
Venue: Amex Stadium — Brighton
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
Brighton vs Southampton final score: 1-1
Kaoru Mitoma 29', Flynn Downes 59'
Brighton vs Southampton live updates — By Nick Mendola
Full time — Brighton 1-1 Southampton
There are a lot of talking points as Saints truly seem hard done by the VAR review.
Brighton, however, more than doubled their visitors shot attempts and will also feel bitter to leave with a lone point — especially when three would’ve meant a two-point lead on second-place City before the champs meet first-place Liverpool on Sunday.
Subs
Evan Ferguson comes on for Danny Welbeck, a handful of minutes after a trio of other Brighton subs: Simon Adingra, Lewis Dunk, and Mats Wieffer for O’Riley, Pedro and Lamptey.
1-1, 80'
Cameron Archer goal will not stand!
Out of nothing, but here comes a VAR check.
The play was very good, Dibling again driving it.
He springs a pretty diagonal pass to the left flank, where Saints’ Ryan Fraser flies toward the 18 and crosses to the back post.
Is Archer offside when he starts his run to put the ball inside the back post?
It seems like they are having trouble finding the edge of the ball, as Lamptey is covering up the camera.
Archer is onside, but they now have to check if Adam Armstrong made an attempt to play the ball before it arrived for Archer. And he did flick his back leg at the ball.
So it was initially offside on Archer. VAR found him onside, but Armstrong ended being offside when he interfered with play.
1-1, 72'.
#BHASOU – 68’
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) November 29, 2024
The referee’s call of no goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Armstrong was in an offside position and deemed to be impacting Verbruggen’s ability to play the ball. pic.twitter.com/d7DXvQqTet
Saints subs
Downes has to come off, as he’s been flirting with a second yellow card for 20 minutes. His goal stands tall right now.
Sugawara also comes off, as Ryan Fraser and Joe Aribo enter the fray.
1-1, 66'.
Flynn Downes goal! Brighton 1-1 Southampton (60th minute)
Good ball work from Saints in and around the Brighton 18, and the Seagulls switch.
Tyler Dibling started the move which saw a cross and a shot blocked, but Downes made no mistake with a rebound at the edge of the box.
His first Premier League goal!
Halftime — Brighton 1-0 Southampton
Possession’s just about shared between the pair, but the host Seagulls found far more danger as the match progressed into the latter stages of the first half.
Shot attempts are 9-5 for Brighton, and neither keeper has registered a save.
Cameron Archer misses near post
Sugawara comes down the right and crosses toward the pack.
Cameron Archer has to leap in his bid to direct the cross on goal, and see the ball off his left leg and helplessly over the bar.
0-0, 45'.
Kaoru Mitoma goal! Brighton 1-0 Southampton (29th minute)
Tariq Lamptey takes a lay-off from Matthew O’Riley, and swings a beautiful left-footed ball between the center backs.
Mitoma meets the ball off a bounce and thuds a header inside the back post.
1-0 to the Brighton side hoping to finish the day in second.
Saints free kick
Ryan Manning swings a left-footed ball into the 18 from 40-50 yards away.
Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen collects and feeds a long, quick counter toward Mitoma.
Sugawara does well to concede a throw.
Still scoreless and pretty even in the 28th minute.
Clank!
Yasin Ayari gets the ball for Brighton wide on the right side, the ball on the chalk of the 18-yard box.
He’s rolls the ball onto his left foot and absolutely clobbers the far post.
So close. 0-0, 17'.
Yellow card — Southampton
An early yellow card from Saints star Flynn Downes.
Danny Welbeck has the better of the ex-Swans, Ipswich Town, and Luton man, and Downes chops him down.
Coming in the 12th minute, that asks a long time for the hard-edged Downes to keep his wits about him.
Southampton let-offs
A long ball toward Kaoru Mitoma is cut off by Yukinari Sugawara, or is it?
Mitoma picks the pocket of his international teammate and is 1v1 with Saints keeper Joe Lumley, but he pipes if wide of the near post.
Moments later, it’s Georginio Rutter dancing across the top of the 18, waiting out Saints defenders before snapping a curling shot wide of the far post.
0-0, 9'.
Promising starts
Southampton held the ball for the first three minutes or so, establishing possession and intent, then Brighton went the other way and Danny Welbeck nearly worked a half-chance out of a 1-2.
0-0, 6'.
Brighton lineup
Verbruggen, Lamptey, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan, Ayari, O’Riley, Rutter, Mitoma, Pedro, Welbeck
Southampton lineup
Lumley, Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens, Walker-Peters, Manning, Downes, Fernandes, Dibling, Armstrong, Archer
Brighton team news, focus
Joao Pedro is healthy and showing no signs of rust. He’ll be a handful for the visitors. Lewis Dunk is back in the squad, which is a huge boost, while Tariq Lamptey is also back which is another boost for the Seagulls. The fact they’ve had the start to the season they’ve had with so many injury issues is absolutely mind-boggling.
OUT: Solly March (knee), James Milner (thigh), Carlos Baleba (suspension), Adam Webster (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Jack Hinshelwood (knee), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe)
Southampton team news, focus
Alex McCarthy was poor between the posts, as Southampton’s second-string keeper very much looked the description against Liverpool. The status of “Tall Paul” Onuachu is one to monitor in the coming days, as he was decent against the Reds.
OUT: Gavin Bazunu (Achilles), Jan Bednarek (knee), Ross Stewart (muscular), William Smallbone (thigh), Aaron Ramsdale (finger), Adam Lallana (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Paul Onuachu (undisclosed)
Brighton vs Southampton prediction
This game expects goals, perhaps from both sides, but it’s difficult to predict that the Seagulls won’t make fewer mistakes than the Saints. And the game’s at the Amex. Brighton 2-1 Southampton. — NM
