'I know him really well' - Joao Pedro explains classy assist at Bournemouth as Fabian Hurzeler heaps praise on 'unbelievable' talisman
Joao Pedro was the difference maker once again as Brighton secured a hard-earned three points at Bournemouth.
The dream of another season in Europe is very much alive, after Albion’s victory left them level on points with third-placed Chelsea.
In his first start since August, Pedro was the man to open the scoring after a superb team move at the Vitality Stadium – just four minutes into the game.
Bournemouth piled on the pressure – and had a goal disallowed – before lightning struck twice at the beginning of the second-half.
It was Albion’s Brazil forward once again who made the goal happen – with a delightful, eye of the needle, pass to Kaoru Mitoma.
The Japan forward made no mistake with his finish in what proved to be the decisive goal.
On his role in the win, Pedro, 23, told BBC Sport: "I think everyone expected that from me, I am one of the leaders here and I am very happy to help my team-mates."
On his relationship with Brighton's forward players, he added: "We at the front have a good relationship. I know [Kaoru] Mitoma really well and I knew he would make this run.
"The relationship we have is great. I think everyone is a big star in their country, Kaoru, Georginio [Rutter], Danny [Welbeck], it's very good for me and I'm very happy to play with them."
Pedro – who has been directly involved in all four of Brighton’s goals in the last two games – said it was a ‘great win’ against Bournemouth to follow up the sensational victory over Manchester City.
He added: "We lost an important player [Carlos Baleba] in the middle of the game [due to a red card].
"It is a great win, I think we deserved to win and now we move forward."
Fabian Hurzeler heaped praise on Pedro in his post-match press conference.
The Seagulls’ manager said: “He has this special quality. Every team in the Premier League has this one key player.
"In possession, he's unbelievable. He made a difference for us today.
"I see how he works against the ball. He invests a lot out of possession and does work which is unseen. It’s very good to have him as a leader on the pitch.”