For a Marseille side who were winless in over a month prior to tonight, getting the crowd on their side from the off seemed key to their chances of victory.
They certainly weren’t wasting any time in that sense either, with the fired up hosts taking the lead inside 20 minutes when Jonathan Clauss’ cross was turned home by former Newcastle man Chancel Mbemba.
Not even 90 seconds later, another ex-Premier League man was downing Brighton.
Lewis Dunk’s complete miscue was pounced upon by Amine Harit, and his cut back was swept home by former Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout.
Brighton thought they had a route back into the game when referee Mykola Balakin consulted the pitchside monitor to check for a potential handball in the box, but to the Seagulls’ dismay, he instead awarded Marseille a free-kick.
With a burning sense of injustice, Brighton turned up the heat before the break, and only a stunning Pau Lopez save denied Ansu Fati his second Seagulls goal when he headed Mahmoud Dahoud cross towards the far corner.
López was powerless to deny Brighton pulling a goal back almost immediately after the break though, as Kaoru Mitoma’s delicate cut-back was inch perfect for Pascal Gross who slammed home to halve the deficit.
From then on, it was largely one-way traffic in Brighton’s favour, but Marseille proved they were still a threat on the counter when one long Lopez punt freed Vitinha, but as he twisted and turned in the box, a last-ditch Lewis Dunk block kept Roberto De Zerbi’s side in the contest.
The Brighton boss threw everything he had at salvaging a point, and it eventually paid dividends when Tariq Lamptey was felled in the area by Clauss, and Joao Pedro stepped forward to slot home his third penalty goal of the group stage already.
To secure a point from 2-0 down will feel like a win for Brighton, but it’s a real kick in the teeth for Marseille, who are now winless in seven of their last nine outings against Premier League opposition at the Stade Vélodrome.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion)
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Other Europa League results (18:45 CET kick-off)
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