Joao Pedro was fortunate not to get sent off after he tried to elbow Yehor Yarmoliuk in the face but failed to make contact, as Brighton’s December pain went on in a goalless draw against Brentford.
Thomas Frank was adamant that the Brighton forward should have gotten a red card, saying: ‘Yes (he was lucky to stay on). As I understand in the rules, you can’t swing your arms and try to hit someone. If you hit them or not, it’s a red card.’
But Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler disagreed with Frank’s view saying it was an ‘interesting opinion’ and that he saw it ‘completely differently’.
‘It’s not a red card,’ said Hurzeler. ‘He (Pedro) tried to escape a personal duel.’
The incident happened in the 75th minute in front of referee Andy Madley and after a lengthy stoppage to check for a possible red card, Chris Kavanagh on VAR deemed that Madley’s call was not a clear and obvious error despite replays showing Pedro lashing out at the Brentford midfielder.
Yarmoliuk had dragged Pedro back to stop a Brighton counter and the Ukrainian was booked for the foul but Pedro escaped punishment for his actions, with Kavanagh determining there was no violent conduct as he didn’t make contact.
It was pretty much the only talking point on an evening where Hurzeler’s side wasted an array of chances with no fewer than 24 attempts. They have now gone six games without a win.
Since their last victory on November 23, the Seagulls have plummeted from second to tenth.
This should have been the ideal game for them against a Brentford side that went into this clash on the south coast with just one point on the road all season.
Brighton was wasteful from the outset with Julio Enciso having eight attempts on goal in the first half alone - the last Premier League player to do that was Luis Suarez in 2013.
The 20-year-old’s evening was summed up by a shot that almost went out for a throw-in. His last goal - which won Premier League goal of the season - came in May 2023,
In the 36th minute, Brentford keeper Mark Flekken was forced off with a hamstring injury and replaced by Hakon Valdimarsson, who made his Premier League debut.
Flekken made six saves in a busy first-half and his Icelandic replacement was equal to the task for the remainder of the game.
With Brighton failing to make their dominance count, Hurzeler’s frustration grew on the touchline in the second half He made a triple change in the 66th minute before replacing Enciso with Georginio Rutter in the 78th minute but to no avail.
In the dying stages, Hurzeler turned to Solly March, who came on for the first time since rupturing his cruciate ligament in October 2023 and the 30-year-old got the biggest reception of the night but there was no time for a festive miracle, as his last gasp effort flew over.
For the traveling Brentford fans, however, it was a late Christmas present in the form of a rare point on the road. A point that Frank described as a ‘fair’ result.
Thomas Frank was adamant that the Brighton forward should have gotten a red card, saying: ‘Yes (he was lucky to stay on). As I understand in the rules, you can’t swing your arms and try to hit someone. If you hit them or not, it’s a red card.’
But Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler disagreed with Frank’s view saying it was an ‘interesting opinion’ and that he saw it ‘completely differently’.
‘It’s not a red card,’ said Hurzeler. ‘He (Pedro) tried to escape a personal duel.’
The incident happened in the 75th minute in front of referee Andy Madley and after a lengthy stoppage to check for a possible red card, Chris Kavanagh on VAR deemed that Madley’s call was not a clear and obvious error despite replays showing Pedro lashing out at the Brentford midfielder.
Yarmoliuk had dragged Pedro back to stop a Brighton counter and the Ukrainian was booked for the foul but Pedro escaped punishment for his actions, with Kavanagh determining there was no violent conduct as he didn’t make contact.
It was pretty much the only talking point on an evening where Hurzeler’s side wasted an array of chances with no fewer than 24 attempts. They have now gone six games without a win.
Since their last victory on November 23, the Seagulls have plummeted from second to tenth.
This should have been the ideal game for them against a Brentford side that went into this clash on the south coast with just one point on the road all season.
Brighton was wasteful from the outset with Julio Enciso having eight attempts on goal in the first half alone - the last Premier League player to do that was Luis Suarez in 2013.
The 20-year-old’s evening was summed up by a shot that almost went out for a throw-in. His last goal - which won Premier League goal of the season - came in May 2023,
In the 36th minute, Brentford keeper Mark Flekken was forced off with a hamstring injury and replaced by Hakon Valdimarsson, who made his Premier League debut.
Flekken made six saves in a busy first-half and his Icelandic replacement was equal to the task for the remainder of the game.
With Brighton failing to make their dominance count, Hurzeler’s frustration grew on the touchline in the second half He made a triple change in the 66th minute before replacing Enciso with Georginio Rutter in the 78th minute but to no avail.
In the dying stages, Hurzeler turned to Solly March, who came on for the first time since rupturing his cruciate ligament in October 2023 and the 30-year-old got the biggest reception of the night but there was no time for a festive miracle, as his last gasp effort flew over.
For the traveling Brentford fans, however, it was a late Christmas present in the form of a rare point on the road. A point that Frank described as a ‘fair’ result.
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