Brighton came into this Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round tie off the back of a 0-0 draw with Wolves in the Premier League, with Roberto De Zerbi making four changes amidst reports that the Italian could be replacing Jürgen Klopp at Anfield come the summer.
SHU: Grbić; Norrington-Davies, Trusty, Ahmedhodžić, Bogle; Brereton Díaz, Osborn, Norwood, Hamer; Archer, Osula
BHA: Verbruggen; Igor, van Hecke, Webster; Estupiñán, Gilmour, Groß, Hinshelwood; João Pedro, Ferguson, Buonanotte
The Seagulls dictated the play in the first opening minutes, giving the home side very little of the ball. The visitors’ promise started with an offside goal from Evan Ferguson, who received the ball from a squared cross from Pascal Groß.
But it was in the 14th minute that Facundo Buonanotte gave Brighton the lead, after a mesmeric strike from outside the box into the top right corner sae Ferguson register an impressive assist.
It didn’t take long before João Pedro netted the second goal of the afternoon from the penalty spot, after his extended first touch had given him access into the box around Anel Ahmedhodžić, before being brought down by Jayden Bogle.
Embed from Getty ImagesWilder’s side, however, soon came back into the game after a tap in from Gustavo Hamer. William Osula squared the ball into the box, which was parried into a dangerous area by Bart Verbruggen to allow the close-range finish from within the six-yard box.
Osula then brought the game level in first-half stoppage time, latching onto a Bogle cross before heading home with ease to complete a marvellous comeback.
But it took just seven minutes for Brighton to restore their lead in the second half, after another penalty was converted by João Pedro – nestling beautifully into the top-right corner this time around.
The Brazilian forward finally completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute, smashing his effort from outside the box into the bottom-left corner and past a dejected Ivo Grbić.
The match was wrapped up deep in stoppage time, as substitute Danny Welbeck made his impact from the bench with a forcefully driven effort.
