Joao Pedro’s hat-trick sent Brighton through to the FA Cup fifth round with a 5-2 win at Sheffield United.
Pedro scored twice from the spot and crashed in an 18-yard drive after Facundo Buonanotte’s fine goal had given the Seagulls an early lead, with Danny Welbeck scoring at the death to seal an emphatic victory.
The Blades had battled back from 2-0 down to level thanks to goals from Gus Hamer and Will Osula but they lost to the better team at Bramall Lane.
Both sides were beaten semi-finalists in last year’s competition but it is Roberto De Zerbi’s side who are dreaming of another cup run while United can concentrate on trying to avoid Premier League relegation.
Brighton had already seen a goal chalked out for offside when they went ahead in sublime fashion in the 14th minute.
Buonanotte picked the ball up in the middle of the hosts’ half and jinked past a tackle before unleashing an unstoppable drive that found the top corner from 25 yards.
United would have been level four minutes later had it not been for some heroic defending from Jan Paul van Hecke and Igor Julio as they blocked shots from Osula and Hamer in quick succession.
That proved important as Brighton went 2-0 up just before the half-hour as a fine piece of skill from Pedro saw him burst into the area where he was clipped by Jayden Bogle.
The striker picked himself up and converted from the spot for his 16th goal of the season.
Sheffield United got one back in the 42nd minute when Osula broke clear down the right and his cross was palmed out by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen straight into the path of Hamer, who fired home.
And in the eighth minute of time added on they got themselves level as Osula headed home Bogle’s cross from close range.
The drama continued in the second half as Brighton regained the lead seven minutes after the restart as Pedro scored his second penalty, stroking home after Bogle handled a cross.
Bogle tried to make amends at the other end as he was on the end of a lightning counter attack but saw his goalbound effort blocked by Pervis Estupinan.
Pedro claimed his first career hat-trick in the 67th minute, killing the tie with a low finish into the bottom corner.
United never threatened to get back into the game and Brighton made it five deep into added time when Welbeck fired under Blades debutant goalkeeper Ivo Grbic.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Frustrated Arteta bemoans referee's inconsistency after Rice red card
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was frustrated with the officials after watching his side draw 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium, having played the majority of the second half with 10 men.
Declan Rice was sent off for a second bookable offence after 49 minutes for delaying the restart from a Brighton free-kick, leaving Arteta to question the consistency of the referee's decision-making.
“If that happens throughout the game in a consistent way that’s fine,” he told TNT Sports in a post-match interview.
“But it didn’t happen. In the first half, there were a number of occasions where they kicked the ball away and nothing happened.
“It’s inconsistency and it's in an area where it’s not critical. You made that call and you have to give a red card.
“If we have to play with 10, they have to play with 10 as well.”
Despite his annoyance at the red card, Arteta was able to find positives in the performance of his team.
Arsenal went 1-0 up after 38 minutes through Kai Havertz’s second goal of the season, before conceding a second-half equaliser following Rice’s dismissal.
“We started the game really good, created three or four big chances,” he said.
“We started the second half really good, had some good moments and momentum and obviously that decision changes the game completely.
“It was unbelievable the way the team reacted [after the goal] with 10 men, playing 48 minutes, we should have won the game.”
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler, meanwhile, had a different opinion to his counterpart.
“It was a red card, he shoots the ball away. He was wasting time,” said Hurzeler in his post-match press conference.
“If Arsenal think otherwise, there are now two opinions.”
When asked about a similar incident in which Joao Pedro seemed to avoid punishment for kicking the ball away, Hurzeler suggested the two events were not like-for-like.
“You can’t compare the two situations,” he said.
“In football, two situations are never the same. I was booked because I was complaining about the tackle against Joel [Veltman] in the first half. We can accept it’s in the Premier League, it’s a yellow card, but I think no one can complain if the referee gives the red card.”
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