Everton rescued a point at the Amex in the final seconds, with substitute Beto striking deep into stoppage time to deny Brighton a win that, for long spells, felt within their control. Pascal Groß had put the hosts ahead in the second half after a strong Brighton display, but a late scramble and a moment of Everton persistence flipped the ending and sent David Moyes into an unfiltered, touchline-to-turf celebration.
Brighton were the sharper side early on, moving the ball crisply and asking questions with patient possession. Everton, compact at first, had to absorb pressure and rely on concentration, and there were stretches where Brighton looked likely to break through. Everton’s threat grew as the match wore on, particularly after the restart, when they became more willing to step into midfield and play forward earlier.
The breakthrough came on 73 minutes, Groß finishing to reward Brighton’s pressure and give them something tangible for their dominance in key spells. At that point, it seemed like the hosts had navigated the game into a favourable lane, but Everton kept pushing for one big moment. They found it at 90+7, when Beto reacted quickest during a late attack to force the equaliser, sparking wild scenes and a booking for Moyes in the aftermath.
Moyes insisted the point was no smash-and-grab. “For us to come here and nick a point in the last minute… it wasn’t a nick, I felt like it was a deserved point in the end,” he said, acknowledging Brighton were better for much of the first half but praising Everton’s second-half response and resilience. He also joked about the celebration and the emotion of the occasion, admitting it was “worth the yellow card”.
Fabian Hürzeler, by contrast, focused on the brutality of the decisive moment. “One certain moment 20 seconds before the end cost us this game, therefore it’s painful,” he said, framing it as a collective lapse rather than pinning blame on an individual, and adding that Brighton will analyse it because “it’s about results, not only good performances.”
Match stats: Possession 53.6%–46.4%; xG 1.44–1.20; Shots 11–7; Shots on target 2–4; Corners 5–2; Yellow cards 1–2. Attendance: 31,419.
