Everton Fight Back As Beto Scores Last-Gasp Equaliser To Draw At Brighton

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Beto struck a dramatic 97th-minute equaliser as Everton claimed a 1-1 draw at Brighton, denying the hosts a rare league victory. Brighton were on course for only a second win in 11 Premier League matches at the American Express Stadium before the substitute punished a late rebound to secure a point.

Pascal Gross had earlier given Brighton the lead on 73 minutes, steering in Yasin Ayari’s delivery against the flow of the game. Everton had grown stronger after half-time, and Beto, scoring on a birthday outing, reacted first when Bart Verbruggen pushed out Jake O’Brien’s effort deep into stoppage time.

Everton offered little attacking threat before the interval and did not register a first-half attempt. The tempo changed after the restart, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall going close from distance, then being denied from close range by Verbruggen following tidy approach play from Thierno Barry. James Tarkowski’s powerful header was then inadvertently blocked on the line by team-mate O’Brien.

Beto’s equaliser, timed at 96 minutes and 20 seconds, ranks as Everton’s second-latest result-changing goal in a Premier League away game on record, dating back to 2006-07. Only Yerry Mina’s leveller at Wolves in May 2023, scored at 98 minutes and 54 seconds, arrived later in such circumstances.

The shot data underlines how tight the contest stayed, with Brighton’s 11 attempts producing 1.29 expected goals compared to Everton’s seven efforts worth 1.2 xG. Everton have now gone three league matches this season without a first-half shot, the highest such figure for any side.

Brighton again conceded late in painful fashion, after Harry Wilson’s stoppage-time free-kick had already decided their defeat at Fulham the previous weekend. The Seagulls are winless in six home Premier League fixtures against Everton, their longest ongoing sequence without a victory against any opponent in the competition.

Gross continued a strong personal record against Everton, adding another goal involvement against this opponent. Gross now has five Premier League goal contributions versus Everton, with three goals and two assists, having only better tallies against West Ham, with 10, and Manchester United, with eight, underlining the consistent impact across those fixtures.