Joao Pedro converted a decisive penalty in the dying moments of the game, as Brighton snatched a dramatic win right at the end of injury time.
Referee Sam Barrott pointed to the penalty spot moments after the regulation five minutes of added time had elapsed, judging Harrison Reed to have committed a foul on Pedro in what appeared to be a questionable decision.
Pedro’s successful penalty broke Brighton’s winless streak against Fulham in the Premier League, marking their first victory after nine previous attempts.
Earlier in the match, Jan Paul van Hecke had equalized for Brighton, cancelling out Raul Jimenez’s opening goal for Fulham in a contest between two teams vying for European qualification.
Alex Iwobi was instrumental in Fulham’s first goal, outpacing Pervis Estupinan and delivering a precise cross for Jimenez to powerfully finish at the near post in the 36th minute.
Jimenez celebrated his goal with an attempted acrobatic flip, a move that caused some concern given his past head injury.
Despite the slightly awkward celebration, Fulham fans were delighted as their Mexican striker reached ten Premier League goals for the season.
However, Brighton responded quickly, with Van Hecke heading in the equalizer just five minutes before halftime in the 42nd minute.
Van Hecke powerfully headed Yasin Ayari’s free-kick past Bernd Leno to level the score.
After the halftime break, Brighton started energetically and had a goal by Kaoru Mitoma disallowed in the 54th minute for an offside in the buildup, confirmed by VAR.
Brighton continued to press, with a Pedro cross finding Minteh, who headed it towards Mitoma, but the latter couldn’t quite connect for a crucial touch.
Brighton fans felt they should have had a penalty when Pervis Estupinan appeared to be tripped by Timothy Castagne in the box, but VAR agreed with the referee’s decision to wave play on.
Later, a late strike from Simon Adingra that looked to be the winner was also ruled out for offside with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
