Brighton beat AEK Athens to reach knockout phase

Brighton booked their spot in the knockout phase of the Europa League by beating AEK Athens.

Joao Pedro, who scored two penalties on that evening on the south coast, was accurate again from the spot as he sent goalkeeper Cican Stankovic the wrong way for the only goal in Greece.

Referee Sandro Scharer did not initially give the penalty after Pedro went down under pressure from Damian Szymanski, but he overturned his on-field decision after being advised to check the pitchside monitor following a VAR check.

AEK’s hopes of forcing their way back into the encounter were dashed just 10 minutes later when forward Mijat Gacinovic, who had been a thorn in Brighton’s side all night, was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a late challenge on Joel Veltman.

With an extra body on the field, Albion monopolised possession and maintained a firm grip on the contest for the final 25 minutes to claim just their third clean sheet of the season.

The win means Brighton will be playing in the next phase of the competition, although they need to beat Marseille in their final Group B fixture at Amex Stadium on 14 December to secure top spot and avoid featuring in the knockout play-offs.

Pedro proving to be key figure

Brighton have been hailed for their dealings in the transfer market, both incoming and outgoing, since making their Premier League debut in 2017-18.

They secured the services of Brazil international Pedro for just under £30m from Watford last summer and he has settled quickly under boss Roberto de Zerbi.

After registering on his debut in a 4-1 win over Luton in the Premier League, Pedro has scored a further eight times to establish himself as the club’s leading marksman.

Pedro looked the calmest person inside OPAP Arena when he made his slow and stuttering run up to the penalty spot before stroking coolly into the bottom-right corner.

The 22-year-old is the outright leading scorer in the Europa League, netting five times in as many games.

While De Zerbi will be happy with Pedro’s performance, the Italian is also likely to take just as much comfort from the fact his side came through the match with a clean sheet too.

Prior to the trip to Greece, Brighton had only collected two clean sheets – both coming against Ajax in the Europa League – in 18 outings across all competitions.

The Seagulls did have to dig in at times, with AEK creating the majority of the chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Steven Zuber went closest when his effort struck the post and Gacinovic could only fire wide from the rebound.

But Brighton rode their luck to get in level at the break and it was a professional performance to see the game through once they got in front.