Brighton sink Bournemouth thanks to first goals for Jahanbakhsh and Mooy
Brighton temporarily eased any relegation fears with a well-earned 2-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Goals from Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Aaron Mooy handed the Seagulls victory at the AMEX Stadium, but the result sees their opponents slip closer to the drop zone having won just one of their last nine in the Premier League.
Graham Potter’s side picked up their first win in five to temporarily move five points clear of the bottom three before the rest of the teams kick off this this weekend.
Showing no effects of the busy festive period, Brighton raced out of the blocks and found themselves ahead after just three minutes through the most unlikely of scorers.
Aaron Mooy’s pass from midfield found Maupay who carried the ball into the penalty area before laying the ball off for the on running Jahanbakhsh to drill across Ramsdale into the bottom left hand corner.
Making his first league start of the season, the unsettled Iranian midfielder justified his selection with his first goal for the Seagulls since his move from AZ Alkmaar in 2018.
The goal lifted Brighton who continued to attack but after going close from a corner, they were almost caught out on the counter when Josh King found his way into the box, only to see his low curled effort pushed away by Matt Ryan.
Maupay then twice found himself with a chance to strike from outside the box but both efforts sailed aimlessly over Ramsdale’s crossbar.
The home side continued to look lively on the break through Jahanbakhsh and Mooy as they chased a second, but Bournemouth eventually settled and began to move the ball better in midfield.
King again got in behind the Seagulls defence ten minutes before the break but his low cross was cleared by Dunk before reaching a waiting Wilson on the edge of the six yard box.
Stanislas then had an effort from the edge of the area, but the block from Montoya took the sting out of the shot making the catch easy for Ryan.
Bournemouth might have thought they had a decent shout for a penalty just after half time. Harry Wilson’s cute reverse pass found the run of Dominic Solanke and striker went to ground under the challenge of Dunk.
However, neither the referee nor VAR were convinced.
It wouldn’t be long before the video assistant was called into action once more, but this time it would be Brighton who would be left frustrated.
Dan Burn’s clever turn and finish in the box after Bournemouth failed to clear their lines initially sent fans in the AMEX delirious, believing they had doubled their advantage - however the goal was chalked off after the defender had been ruled marginally offside earlier in the phase of play.
Be it through frustration or indignation, Brighton were sparked into life and Mooy were close with a shot from distance before Yves Bissouma’s left footed daisy cutter struck the foot of the post.
Brighton weren’t to be denied however, and soon got the second goal their performance after the break deserved.
Picking up the ball on the left hand side, Leandro Trossard played an inventive cross with the outside of his right to pick out the run of Mooy into the penalty area.
The Australian then cleverly controlled the ball with his chest before cutting inside his defender and placing it beyond a helpless Ramsdale from eight yards in almost one swift movement.
For Mooy, it was also his first goal for the Seagulls after an impressive first half of the season after joining the Potter’s team on loan from Huddersfield in the summer.
Bournemouth’s miserable day was compounded when Jack Stacey was forced off with an injury, forcing the Cherries to see out the game with ten men having used all three subs.
Substitute Glen Murray almost put the icing on the cake for Brighton but his smart, goal-bound strike was palmed away by Ramsdale late on.
The home side had to settle for two but it was enough for all three points, pulling them further away from the relegation zone ahead of the 3pm kick offs.
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