Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said his team were ‘too naïve’ in their second 2-2 draw of the season against relegation-bound Leicester City.
Joao Pedro twice scored from the penalty spot but Albion failed on both occasions to hold on – or add to – their lead at the Amex on Saturday (April 12).
Leicester had not scored in the Premier League since January before kick-off but Stephy Mavididi and Caleb Okoli were both able to breach the Seagulls’ last line of defence.
It was a bitterly disappointing afternoon for Brighton, who have now winless in the last three Premier League games. They previously lost to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest.
Assessing his team’s performance, Hurzeler said: “Too naïve, not mature enough, don’t react as well on set-backs during the game, didn’t stick together, especially in the final part of the game, and therefore we didn’t deserve to win this.”
The result leaves Brighton ninth in the table – six points behind fifth-placed Aston Villa, who occupy the final Champions League spot. They are also five points behind seventh-placed Newcastle, who have two games in hand.
The Seagulls will be overtaken by Bournemouth if they, on Sunday, beat Fulham – who sit one place above Brighton.
It is now on a knife-edge whether Brighton will be playing in Europe next season.
Hurzeler said: “I wouldn’t say that’s it, but we shouldn’t talk about Europe if we play like this.
“If you lead two times, then you have to have a defensive mindset, and everyone has a responsibility to defend, and we only did it in some phases of the game, not for 90 minutes, and therefore we weren’t able to keep the goal clean.
“That’s the main reason why we didn’t win this game. It’s not only about imposition, of course we can talk about the chances we created, but when you shoot two goals at home, then it should be enough to win this game.”
