Brighton rescue point at death; Leeds hold Liverpool 3-3

For long stretches, West Ham looked the sharper and more purposeful side, but Brighton’s late surge ensured the evening ended with frustration on both benches and a sense of what might have been.
Under grey skies and steady rain in Sussex, the opening passages were disjointed. Brighton dominated the ball but struggled to break through a disciplined West Ham shape. Rutter’s early volley sailed comfortably wide, and it was the visitors who soon grew into the rhythm, breaking with pace through Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville.
West Ham nearly broke the deadlock inside 40 minutes when Summerville pounced on a defensive lapse and cut inside dangerously, only to curl his finish beyond the far post. Lucas Paquetá then forced Bart Verbruggen into action with a dipping long-range strike that the Brighton goalkeeper pushed away from danger. The home side fashioned their best chance just before half-time, but Maxim De Cuyper’s dangerous cross fizzed past Joey Veffer, who arrived a fraction too late at the far post.
The second half belonged, at least initially, to West Ham. Bowen tested Verbruggen again with a venomous effort from distance, before the Dutch keeper produced a superb double save to deny Summerville from close range. Brighton, by contrast, were laboured in possession and blunt in the final third, failing to register a shot on target until the final minute of regulation time.
Momentum tilted further West Ham’s way when David Moyes made a triple substitution on 82 minutes. Callum Wilson’s introduction proved instantly effective. Within sixty seconds he drove forward, slipped the ball to Bowen, and the winger squeezed a low finish past Verbruggen from a narrow angle-capitalising on a misjudged header from Jan Paul van Hecke.
Brighton responded with urgency. Straight from kick-off, a deflected cross clipped the post, igniting the home crowd. Substitute Charalampos Kostoulas then forced Alphonse Areola into an important save as waves of blue shirts poured forward.
Their persistence paid off in the first minute of added time. A chaotic scramble saw Areola initially deny Rutter with a strong stop, only for van Hecke to recycle the ball and lay it back into the danger zone. Rutter was quickest to react, sweeping his finish into the net. After a brief VAR check for handball, the goal stood. Brighton continued hunting for a winner, with Danny Welbeck heading straight at Areola moments later, but West Ham also had chances to snatch the points back.

Leeds Hold Liverpool

If the Brighton match ended with late drama, the scenes at Elland Road bordered on chaos. Leeds United held Liverpool to a breathless 3-3 draw courtesy of Ao Tanaka’s 96th-minute equaliser, capping one of the season’s most dramatic second halves.
But the on-field fireworks were overshadowed by a remarkable post-match revelation from Mohamed Salah, who admitted he felt “thrown under the bus” by his club.
For Liverpool, the afternoon spiralled from promising control to chaotic collapse.
After a dreary, goalless first half, Hugo Ekitike struck twice in three minutes shortly after the restart, punishing a dreadful pass from Joe Rodon and showcasing the sharpness that has made him one of Liverpool’s few bright sparks this season.
At 2-0, Liverpool appeared in cruise control. Yet defensive lapses dragged Leeds straight back into the contest.
Ibrahima Konate’s rash challenge on Wilfried Gnonto gifted the hosts a penalty, converted confidently by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
That ignited Elland Road. Suddenly Liverpool wobbled, and Anton Stach’s composed finish in the 75th minute levelled the match at 2-2.
Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s lead five minutes later with a fine strike, but the visitors’ frailties resurfaced once more.
Deep into stoppage time, Leeds struck from a set piece-Liverpool’s Achilles heel all season-when Tanaka hammered home from close range to erupt the stadium. (Agencies)