An emotional Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored his first goal for Brighton as they beat relegation rivals Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The Iran international winger, making his 27th appearance for the club, blasted home from 16 yards after Neal Maupay’s lay-off.
He appeared close to tears afterwards with even goalkeeper Mat Ryan running forward to join in the jubilant celebrations.
Dan Burn had a second goal ruled out by the video assistant referee for marginal offside several phases of play before he smashed home.
And Yves Bissouma struck the post as Brighton – not for the first time this season – struggled to get a second goal to kill the game off.
But the clinching strike came as Aaron Mooy controlled Leandro Trossard’s cross before firing in his first Seagulls goal.
Bournemouth only had two shots on target, with one of those coming from Junior Stanislas on his return from eight months out with a knee injury.
Graham Potter’s Brighton move three points above Bournemouth, with both clubs on a similar run of form – one win in eight before this game – and only previously separated on goals scored.
Jahanbakhsh’s time in England has not gone to plan. There were high hopes for him when he joined Brighton 18 months ago, having just won the Dutch golden boot with AZ Alkmaar with 21 goals before playing at the World Cup for Iran.
But he failed to score in 25 appearances last campaign and was making his first Premier League start of the season against Bournemouth in one of seven changes from their Boxing Day defeat by Tottenham.
The 26-year-old spoke recently about wanting to work hard to get into the team despite rumours of a January departure – and started confidently with a good first-minute cross into the box.
His goal – a strike which could kickstart his English career – came soon after.
He made no mistake with his 22nd Premier League shot, rifling an effort into the bottom corner after good play by Maupay to net Brighton’s quickest Premier League goal.
Brighton dominated possession like they usually do and created the better chances, with Maupay driving two shots over the bar before half-time.
Dunk thought he had scored his first goal for the club when he swivelled and fired home a shot on the bounce. But the VAR spotted Dunk was offside by millimetres when Mooy had crossed in his free-kick – even though the ball had bobbled around the box with several players on both sides getting a touch before it reached Dunk.
Mooy then went close from 25 yards before Bissouma ran from the centre circle before smashing a shot off the post.
The second goal that Potter’s side deserved eventually came, a classy finish by Mooy, who took down Trossard’s cross on his chest before stepping past Chris Mepham and stroking a shot home.
The win takes Brighton up to 13th – albeit before the rest of the weekend’s games.
You might also like – 10 Players Linked With Man Utd Transfers
With the January transfer window just days away from opening, here are 10 players who have been linked with a move to Manchester United as the Red Devils look to strengthen for the second half of the 2019/20 season.
United are currently seventh on the Premier League table, having won just seven of their 19 matches since August.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might be looking for ways to improve his side ahead of the second half of the campaign, with many believing the team is in need of reinforcement in almost all departments. read more
Source – Sport365coza
