Brighton were frustrated by a superb performance from Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford as they played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium.
Simon Adingra headed in from Pascal Gross’ cross in the 77th minute to deny Vincent Kompany’s side, who had looked set to claim a second away win of the season courtesy of Wilson Odobert’s sensational solo effort at the end of the first half.
Odobert’s strike had rocketed beyond Bart Verbruggen in the Brighton goal against the run of play to stun home fans, but after Roberto De Zerbi’s team had drawn level late on, they bombarded the Burnley goal, only to find Trafford in the form of his life to keep out first Kaoru Mitoma then Jack Hinshelwood at the death.
Brighton dominated the ball for the opening 10 minutes but they conceded the game’s first chance to Burnley, Sander Berge driving forward and passing to the feet of Johann Berg Gudmundsson who turned and curled wide with his left foot from just inside the box.
The hosts grew only slowly as an attacking threat. Charlie Taylor stretched well to hook Joao Pedro’s far-post cross away from the foot of Adingra, who would have had a tap-in, before Gross headed up and onto the roof of the goal from James Milner’s inviting delivery.
Minutes later, Gross spurned the clearest chance of the opening half-hour when, after being set up on the right by good play between Pedro and Adingra, he shot low to the near post instead of aiming across goal, Trafford turning it aside well with a strong left boot.
By now De Zerbi’s side were comfortably on top. Trafford made another save this time down to his right from Milner’s driven effort, before Jan Paul van Hecke wasted a golden opportunity, thumping a free header wide following a superbly flighted cross from Adingra.
Burnley were stretched, struggling to contain Brighton’s speed of passing and movement in between their lines, and Mahmoud Dahoud almost made them pay in spectacular fashion, his thunderous effort whistling inches over from 20 yards.
The goal then came completely against the run of play and owed everything to the brilliance of Odobert.
There seemed to be little on when the 19-year-old collected the ball on the left just outside the box in the final minute of the half. Three Brighton players stood off him, providing Odobert all the encouragement he needed, and with a stunning right-footed drive that nicked off Milner and looped over Verbruggen he gave the visitors the lead.
Brighton had won only twice in the league since September and that patchy form looked like persisting. De Zerbi sent on Mitoma and Billy Gilmour at the break to try and tip the game in his side’s favour.
Instead it was Burnley who almost extended their lead and it was Odobert again the threat, drawing a brave low stop from Verbruggen, with Jay Rodriguez foiled by the goalkeeper from the follow-up.
By the hour mark, Kompany’s side had dropped considerably deeper than during the first half, and Brighton were dominating again.
Mitoma swept a bending shot over the bar with his instep, Evan Ferguson put a free header wide from Van Hecke’s cross, and the Amex grew increasingly anxious as the prospect of a second defeat in three league games loomed.
The chances came more freely. Gross found Adingra in an acre of space at the far post, Trafford excelling yet again, racing from goal to deny him with a sprawling block.
Then finally came the equaliser Brighton had deserved, and it was the excellent Gross that made it. Aaron Ramsey tried to stand up the Germany international on the edge of the box, but checking back onto his right foot he crossed for Adingra who made amends for his earlier miss with a header into the corner.
Substitute Hinshelwood’s header was brilliantly pushed behind by Trafford in stoppage time.
Burnley’s goalkeeper had been outstanding, and he saved his very best until last, fingertipping over from Mitoma’s right-foot bullet in the dying seconds.
Real Salt Lake v Sporting Kansas City: Mastroeni lauds team effort of Western Conference leaders
Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni credited the collective effort of his league-leading side as they prepare to host Sporting Kansas City at America First Field for Sunday's MLS clash.
Salt Lake sit atop of the Western Conference table after a six-game undefeated streak, having overcome Philadelphia Union 2-1 in their last outing.
Alexandros Katranis provided a remarkable 89th-minute winner in that victory over the Union, with RSL not losing an MLS game since March 9 against Colorado Rapids.
"I think it is everything so far, every aspect of the team has been competitive – sometimes the offense clicks, sometimes it is the defense," Mastroeni said.
"For me, it is really the collective; from the staff, to the players, to me and the work we do every day. Scoring the first goal has been really important for us in most of the games.
"Defensively we have been a really good team, it starts at the top, though. We're getting a lot of great contributions from all around the pitch.
"When you tie that all together, we've got a great group firing on all cylinders."
Peter Vermes' Wizards were defeated 2-1 by Minnesota United in their last match, leaving them 10th in the West with just 11 points to their name after 10 games.
Kansas City head coach Vermes knows another difficult task awaits on the road this weekend.
"They are the best team in the West at the moment," Vermes said of RSL.
"They are always a tough defensive team. With the strike power they have up front, we will have to be focused and concentrated, it will be a tough match for us."
Vermes' high praise of Salt Lake comes as no surprise given Mastroeni's men have only conceded nine times this season – a joint-low in MLS.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Cristian Arango has 16 goal contributions through 10 matches this season, equalling the most in a player’s first 10 appearances of a season in MLS history (Carlos Vela in 2019, Cobi Jones in 1998).
With eight goals in just 10 appearances so far this term, the Real Salt Lake star has already surpassed his six strikes in 2023 – and will hope to further his tally here.
Sporting Kansas City – Johnny Russell
Johnny Russell has scored six goals in 13 career MLS matches against Real Salt Lake (also considering playoffs), including scoring at least once against RSL in each of the last five seasons.
The Scottish winger is yet to score in league competition this year, though, failing to find the net in any of his seven appearances – though Russell has only played 90 minutes twice in that run.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
It will be hard to split these two sides with a draw appearing probable, despite the Opta supercomputer suggesting Real Salt Lake have the likelier chance of victory.
Sporting have never recorded back-to-back victories when visiting Salt Lake in all competitions, though they did win the last meeting between these two sides 3-2 in October.
SKC may have also lost their last outing but they have not suffered consecutive defeats across all competitions since April 2023, avoiding defeat in the match following each of its previous 14 losses (W10 D4).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake win – 45.5%
Sporting Kansas City win – 26.8%
Draw – 27.7%
Hoffenheim 1-1 RB Leipzig: Kramaric denies visitors after Simons red card
Andrej Kramaric scored a last-minute equaliser to deny RB Leipzig victory in Friday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw at Hoffenheim, in a game which saw Xavi Simons sent off.
Simons was shown his second yellow card with 18 minutes to play, with fourth-placed Leipzig 1-0 up courtesy of Benjamin Sesko's first-half header.
Marco Rose's team looked set to leapfrog Stuttgart into third ahead of Saturday's fixtures, but Kramaric – who had earlier been denied by a huge double save from Peter Gulasci – salvaged a point for the hosts with stoppage time mere seconds away.
While Leipzig missed the chance to move eight points clear of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund, both teams will be playing Champions League football next season after Germany clinched a top-two place in UEFA's coefficient rankings this week.
Data Debrief: Flying full-back creates again
David Raum assisted Sesko's opener with a pinpoint cross, the eighth goal he has teed up in the Bundesliga this season. Seven of those have been headers, a joint-high tally among all players, alongside Borussia Monchengladbach's Franck Honorat.
Luton Town 1-1 Everton: Hatters squander opportunity to climb out of relegation zone
Luton Town missed an inviting chance to escape the Premier League's bottom three after Friday's hard-fought 1-1 draw with Everton at Kenilworth Road.
Rob Edwards' side would have leapfrogged 17th-placed Nottingham Forest – who visit Sheffield United on Saturday – with a victory, but were instead left level on points with Nuno Espirito Santo's team.
The fit-again Elijah Adebayo cancelled out Dominic Calvert-Lewin's 24th-minute penalty in an entertaining first half, though neither side could find a winner in an end-to-end second period.
Despite an encouraging performance, Luton – who almost snatched a late victory – stay 18th and below Forest on goal difference, while Everton remain 15th in the table.
A tense opening offered few opportunities as Dwight McNeil's left-wing cross deflected off Teden Mengi and forced Thomas Kaminski into a smart reflex stop, but Everton hit the front soon after.
VAR David Coote recommended a pitch-side review before referee Tim Robinson awarded a penalty for a needless Mengi pull on Jarrad Branthwaite's shirt from McNeil's corner, with Calvert-Lewin squeezing his spot-kick under Kaminski.
Yet Luton responded after 31 minutes when Adebayo ushered Ashley Young out of the way from Albert Sambi Lokonga's hanging delivery before swivelling to finish into the bottom-left corner.
Clear-cut chances remained sparse before Carlton Morris' looping header from Alfie Doughty's pinpoint back-post delivery was headed off the line by Ben Godfrey on the stroke of half-time.
Gabriel Osho curled a bending effort narrowly wide of Jordan Pickford's left-hand post shortly after the interval, while former Toffee Ross Barkley headed over from Tahith Chong's left-wing centre.
Jack Harrison's deflected effort almost caught Luton off-guard, though, as Kaminski produced an eye-catching stop before denying a thumping Calvert-Lewin header.
Luton laid siege to Everton's area in stoppage time, but the Toffees clung on, Pickford turning Luke Berry's header wide before a heroic Branthwaite block denied Andros Townsend a last-gasp winner against his former club.
Luton entertain without victory
Prior to Friday's match, Luton had won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (three draws, 10 defeats), with no side picking up fewer points than the Hatters since the start of this run (six).
Edwards' winless misery was further compounded when Mengi's mindless foul on Branthwaite afforded Everton their opener, yet Luton responded to keep their hopes of Premier League safety alive and cement their status among the competition's entertainers.
Luton have both scored and conceded in 29 of their 36 Premier League games this season, a joint-record by any side in a single campaign in the competition, along with Swindon Town in 1993-94 and Southampton in 1994-95.
Everton not resting on laurels
Everton could have been forgiven for letting this game pass them by, having already secured their top-flight status with three straight victories over Forest, Liverpool and Brentford.
Yet the Toffees started well and were good value for their lead as Calvert-Lewin scored his fourth goal in his last five Premier League appearances, as many as he managed in his previous 38.
Some disappointing defending for Adebayo's leveller may frustrate Sean Dyche, but his side still made it four games unbeaten since their 6-0 hammering at Chelsea in the middle of April.
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