Brighton's penalty against Bournemouth explained as Michael Oliver awards 'very soft' spot kick
Referee Michael Oliver awards early penalty to Brighton
Brighton took a 12th-minute lead against sixth-placed Bournemouth after a controversial penalty at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton midfielder Diego Gomez – making his first start following his £12m January move from Intern Miami – threaded a ball through to Joao Pedro who was taken out by visiting goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Pedro managed to get a toe on the ball before contact was made and directed the ball away from the unrushing Kepa, before crashing to the ground. Referee Michael Oliver awarded a spot-kick and VAR – manned by Matt Donohue and assisted by Gary Beswick – deemed there was no clear and obvious error by Oliver.
Former Chelsea midfielder and TNT Sports co-commentator, Nigel Spackman, claimed it “was very soft” but Pedro dusted himself down and sent Kepa the wrong way from the spot.
It was a nice assist from Gomez who impressed in the early stages, as Pedro took his tally to seven goals in the Premier League so far this term.
Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele is currently out with a shoulder injury was on pundit duty for TNT Sports. He added: “I would not be happy if that was given against me, but in modern football that is a penalty all day long.
"Pedro took a shove in the back from Huijsen and was very clever to get a touch and leave a leg in there.”
Pedro scored in the 4-0 win against Southampton last weekend and received praise from his manager Fabian Hurzeler ahead of the Bournemouth clash.
"Joao is a player who always has a little bit of self-confidence,” said the Albion head coach. “He has this attitude inside of him, that he knows ‘I can decide a game with one action’ and he has not only this thinking, he also has the quality and the skills to do this.
"He proved it at the weekend. But besides that for me, it's more important how he behaves as a team player and he proved last week that he is supportive of his teammates, although he was not starting, he was always there for his teammates.”
For your next Albion read: 'Massive' – Chris Sutton predicts Brighton's top five chances and gives Bournemouth verdict