Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Brighton & Hove Albion - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - November 23, 2024 Brighton & Hove Albion's Joao Pedro celebrates scoring their first goal with Brighton & Hove Albion's Danny Welbeck and Brighton & Hove Albion's Yasin Ayari REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
BOURNEMOUTH, England (Reuters) -Brighton & Hove Albion beat Bournemouth 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday with goals from Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma, while the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Carlos Baleba was sent off in the second half.
Brighton moved up to fifth place in the table with 22 points from 12 matches, trailing third-placed Chelsea and Arsenal in fourth on goal difference, while Bournemouth dropped to 13th with 15 points ahead of the remaining weekend fixtures.
Pedro continued his terrific form as the Brazilian put Brighton ahead in the fourth minute, pouncing on a rebound after fellow forward Georginio Rutter's powerful low effort was saved by Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Pedro, 23, now has four goals in six Premier League appearances this season.
Bournemouth were the slightly better side after going behind but spurned a couple of opportunities, with forward Justin Kluivert firing his shot just wide after left back Milos Kerkez was slipped in by striker Antoine Semenyo down the left.
The home side also had an Evanilson strike ruled out for offside following a VAR check after the Brazilian had tapped in Kluivert's square pass.
Their wastefulness was punished moments after the interval when Japanese winger Mitoma doubled Brighton's lead, slotting into the bottom corner after Pedro's stunning through ball beat the home side's defence.
Brighton lost Baleba in the 59th minute after the 20-year-old Cameroonian midfielder received a second yellow card for a challenge on Kerkez.
David Brooks reduced Bournemouth's deficit in the 93rd minute when he unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner from a tight angle after fellow substitute Enes Unal laid on the ball for him.
The Seagulls withstood some more late pressure, including a Semenyo volley which hit the crossbar in the dying minutes of the game, to seal all three points.
"It was small margins (with the offsides), we hit the crossbar at the end, it has been this kind of game," Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola told BBC Sport.
"We had enough time (to equalise), we continued pushing, probably with the substitutions it cost us some time and we tried until the end but we couldn't get the goal."
Prior to the game, Bournemouth were on a three-match winning streak in the league at home which included victories over reigning champions Manchester City and Arsenal.
But Brighton's Fabian Huerzeler -- the youngest permanent head coach in Premier League history -- was not getting carried away by his side's impressive result.
"There is no surprise (at the progress) or expectations. It is belief in the process and the guys. If you see them work every day you see an unbelievable work ethic," the 31-year-old German told BBC Sport.
"When you are a man down you have to stick together and support each other. We can improve on a lot of points but I believe in the process. It's important now to stay humble and stay grounded because their game could go in a different direction today.
"Stay humble. Stay hard workers because that is our identity. We have a vision of where we want to go but it is important to go step by step.
"This league is unpredictable and things can change immediately. We must work hard and keep focused on the process."
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon and Pritha Sarkar)
