Brighton & Hove Albion produced a spirited comeback to earn their first point of their maiden European campaign, fighting from two goals down to hold Marseille in the south of France.
For Marseille, who had not secured a victory in over a month leading up to tonight’s match, winning the support of the crowd right from the start was crucial for their chances of winning. They wasted no time in doing so, taking the lead within the first 20 minutes as Jonathan Clauss delivered a cross that Chancel Mbemba, a former Newcastle player, converted into a goal. Shortly thereafter, within 90 seconds, another former Premier League player contributed to Brighton’s downfall. A mistake by Lewis Dunk was seized upon by Amine Harit, and his pass was expertly finished by former Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout.
Brighton believed they had found a way back into the game when referee Mykola Balakin checked the pitchside monitor for a potential handball in the box. However, to Brighton’s disappointment, he instead awarded Marseille a free-kick. Despite this perceived injustice, Brighton increased their intensity before halftime, and only a remarkable save by Pau López prevented Ansu Fati from scoring his second goal for Brighton when he directed Mahmoud Dahoud’s cross towards the far corner.
López couldn’t stop Brighton from pulling a goal back shortly after halftime, as Kaoru Mitoma’s precise cut-back set up Pascal Groß, who confidently scored to reduce the deficit. From that point onward, Brighton dominated play, but Marseille demonstrated they were still a threat on the counter. A long punt from López set Vitinha free, but a last-ditch block by Lewis Dunk kept Roberto De Zerbi’s side in the contest.
Brighton’s manager threw everything into salvaging a point, and it paid off when Tariq Lamptey was fouled in the area by Clauss.
João Pedro stepped up and calmly slotted home his third penalty goal of the group stage. While securing a point from a 2-0 deficit will feel like a victory for Brighton, it’s a significant setback for Marseille, who have now gone without a win in seven of their last nine matches against Premier League opponents at the Stade Vélodrome.