Brighton, Jan 26 (UNI) Iliman Ndiaye's first-half penalty proved decisive as Everton eased their relegation fears with a 1-0 victory over Brighton in a Premier League match here.
With seven minutes of a largely uneventful first half remaining, Brighton defender Joel Veltman appeared to deliberately shepherd the ball out of play with his hand while under pressure from Beto inside the penalty area.
After being invited by the video assistant referee (VAR) to consult his pitchside monitor, on-field official Tim Robinson pointed to the spot and Ndiaye sent a low effort into the bottom corner to give Everton the lead.
Brighton created little in the first half but emerged for the second period with greater purpose, Kaoru Mitoma curling a shot wide of the far post before Orel Mangala and Jordan Pickford combined to clear Joao Pedro's close-range effort behind for a corner, the BBC reported.
Half-time substitute Georginio Rutter flashed a shot narrowly wide after shrugging off Jarrad Branthwaite on the edge of the box, but there was no way through for the Seagulls as their unbeaten start to 2025 came to an end.
Everton are now seven points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand, while Brighton remain ninth.
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