Arijanet Muric made another costly error as Burnley saw a great chance to close in on Luton Town go begging in a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.
A week on from making a calamitous mistake in Burnley’s defeat to Everton, Muric was left red-faced again when he let a back-pass slip under his foot and roll into the net at Turf Moor.
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That error came after Muric’s Brighton counterpart Bart Verbruggen had seen his clearance charged down and turned in by Josh Brownhill.
But Brighton’s luck was in when Muric spared his opposite number’s blushes, a mistake that proved incredibly costly as a victory would have put Burnley just four points from safety, with a crucial match at Sheffield United next weekend. But now instead their chances of a great escape look increasingly slim.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
35 | -20 | 26 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
35 | -29 | 25 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
35 | -32 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
35 | -63 | 16 |
How the match unfolded
Burnley started with the greater intent and, just seven minutes in, there were big appeals for a penalty as Wilson Odobert fell under the challenge of Pervis Estupinan, yet referee Simon Hooper was unmoved.
Jacob Bruun Larsen drilled wide from a devilish Odobert centre, who was involved again when his shot strayed wide of the mark after he cut in sharply from the left.
Muric remained largely untroubled at the other end, though Burnley’s goalkeeper did have to react smartly to parry away Jakub Moder’s free-kick.
David Datro Fofana went close either side of half-time, failing to connect with Odobert’s cross before then sending a diving header left of Brighton’s goal.
Yet Burnley had their breakthrough when Brownhill barrelled down Verbruggen with 16 minutes remaining.
The Clarets’ hopes of a morale-boosting win took a dent, though, when Muric let a routine pass divert from his control five minutes later, with the ball trickling home.
Fofana has enjoyed a fruitful loan spell from Chelsea, but he can be quietly thankful that Muric’s mistake stole the limelight.
Despite enterprising wing-play from the excellent Odobert, Fofana just could not capitalise.
He squandered a number of good chances and in a relegation scrap, goals are ultimately those fine margins that can keep a side’s safety hopes alive. Vincent Kompany’s team are running out of time.
A bad day for goalkeeper blunders
A relatively routine end-of-season clash filtered into madness with two hapless goals in the final stages - both arriving through goalkeeping mishaps.
Verbruggen found himself with a rare blot on his Brighton resume, but his opposite number, Muric, made another mistake. Following a poor concession against Everton last week, Muric could only scramble back as the ball trickled over the line following his miscontrol to earn Brighton a point which keeps them in 10th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
34 | +1 | 54 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
34 | +19 | 53 |
| 8 |
West Ham
WHU
|
35 | -9 | 49 |
| 9 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
33 | +4 | 48 |
| 10 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
35 | -8 | 48 |
Club reports
Burnley report | Brighton report
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Burnley are now unbeaten in three consecutive home Premier League games (W1 D2), after losing 11, drawing two and winning one of the previous 14 this season.
Three Burnley players have scored an own-goal in the Premier League this season (Dara O’Shea, Ameen Al Dakhil and Muric), with only more players from Sheffield United putting through their own net this season (5).
Since their debut season in 2017-18, Brighton have benefited from 17 own-goals in the Premier League, a figure bettered only by Tottenham (25) and Liverpool (18) in that time.
Burnley have dropped 24 points from leading positions in the Premier League this season, with only Brentford (30) dropping more.