Brighton back to winning ways as Gross returns – REPORT Brighton 2-0 Burnley

Brighton and Hove Albion secured a 2-0 home win against Burnley, marking their first victory in seven matches. Goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari sealed the game, while Pascal Gross’s return as a substitute generated excitement. This result moved Brighton up to eighth in the league ahead of tougher upcoming fixtures.

INMR

January 3, 2026

2–3 minutes

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Brighton and Hove Albion claimed their first victory in seven matches as they cruised to a 2-0 victory at home to lowly Burnley.

Goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari either side of half-time were enough to seal the three points on a chilly afternoon on the south coast.

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This result means Albion leap six places up to eighth in the table ahead of the rest of this weekend’s fixtures.

However, the game was arguably overshadowed by the return of home favourite Pascal Gross after the German re-joined Brighton from Borussia Dortmund.

Gross arrived to raucous applause after he appeared as a 70th minute substitute, with those cheers being maintained every time he got a touch of the ball.

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The majority of the action, meanwhile, occurred before Gross entered.

Albion thought they had taken the lead in the 10th minute when Charalampos Koustoulas fired a low shot past Martin Dubravka.

However, the teenager, making his full debut in blue and white, was denied via the assistant’s flag, with the tight decision being confirmed by VAR.

Brighton’s promising start was rewarded just before the half-hour mark.

Great play on the right led to the ball finding Ayari 20-yards from goal. The Swede’s shot was deflected by teammate Koustoulas into the path of Georginio.

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The Frenchman was on hand to rifle in from close range beyond Dubravka to give Albion a deserved lead.

The Seagulls continued to threaten in the first half, with Jean Paul van Hecke seeing his ambitious bicycle kick comfortably dealt with by the Burnley shot-stopper.

Bart Verbruggen, at the other end, was alert on the stroke of half-time to preserve his side’s lead.

Lucas Pires broke down the left and forced Verbruggen into a smart save with an outstretched leg – this was the visitors’ only shot in the first half.

Albion got off to the perfect start in the second half and doubled their lead just a minute into the restart.

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Florentino’s attempted tackle was diverted into the feet of Ayari who slotted it cooly past the diving Dubravka into the far corner.

Burnley came closest to reducing the deficit when a corner was superbly deflected onto his own bar by Ferdi Kadioglu.

Albion were also denied by the woodwork when Maxim de Cuyper’s speculative free-kick crashed up against the upright.

A solid start to the new year for Brighton, who claim a much-needed win after a torrid December. They will be sure to face a tougher test next time out when they travel to the Etihad to play Manchester City.