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Visiting Brighton come from behind to nail Burnley

 

Visiting Brighton had the last laugh in their season opener against Burnley on Saturday.

Burnley led through James Tarkowski and were good for it.

For large parts, this opening day felt like an episode in trial and error for Potter, who had chosen Pascal Gross as an inverted left back to begin with, but his changes saw them fly back south with what could be crucial points.

A change in formation at the break, moving Gross from left to right as well, and later the impact of two substitutes, saw this turn sharply with 17 minutes left.

First Neal Maupay equalised, nudging ahead of his marker to stab home a cross by Jakub Moder – who had barely entered the field- before another substitute, Alexis Mac Allister, sealed the points.

Mac Allister, who had been at the Olympics with Argentina, offers an extra edge in the final third and Burnley just could not cope. Sean Dyche will be particularly annoyed given a tough run of fixtures over the coming weeks, starting at Anfield next week.

There felt a proper sense of normality around Turf Moor for those returning fans, given Dyche made only two changes from the team that drew here against Tottenham the last time this stadium was in full operation 17 months ago. That speaks to a club which needs a fresh boost of investment before the window closes. Whether that arrives or not is another thing entirely.

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Meanwhile, Brighton were not learning lessons from corners. Robert Sanchez flapped at another, Ben Mee returning it his way but only against the crossbar, with Tarkowski then volleying over.

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