Having infamously lost this fixture 5-1 last season, Brighton had a point to prove in the early stages. The Seagulls were absolutely dominant in the opening half-hour, but testing Jordan Pickford in the visitors’ goal was proving difficult. A series of half-chances came and went for Danny Welbeck, while a tame Dunk header was gratefully collected by his international colleague.
Sean Dyche’s men had been camped in their own half for the vast majority of the first half, but the Toffees were certainly improving by the HT whistle, and could’ve even gone in ahead had Dominic Calvert-Lewin made better use of a glancing header. Everton’s improvement continued beyond the interval, and they were only denied the opener by a heroic goalline clearance from Tariq Lamptey to prevent Abdoulaye Doucouré, who scored twice on this ground last term.
Roberto De Zerbi turned to his bench as the hosts chased an opener, and would’ve had it if not for a James Tarkowski block to deny Ansu Fati. At the other end, James Garner’s teasing free-kick narrowly evaded both the far corner and the outstretched Jarrad Branthwaite. The centre-back had no problem making contact moments later though, seizing on a loose ball to fire into the top corner and give the Toffees the lead.
Brighton’s comeback efforts were almost immediately stopped in their traps when Billy Gilmour was sent off for a high challenge on Amadou Onana. De Zerbi’s men pressed forward regardless, with Fati stinging the palms of Pickford in the closing stages. And just as it looked as though Everton’s rearguard would hold firm, Dunk steered Pascal Groß’s cross into the far corner to steal a dramatic point for the Seagulls.
