Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Everton: Locadia strike proves decisive for hosts

Brighton have claimed 33 of their 43 points in 2018 at home

Jurgen Locadia's second-half goal proved decisive as Brighton beat Everton to end 2018 with another win at the Amex Stadium.

The Dutchman's strike just before the hour mark came after Toffees midfielder Andre Gomes inadvertently diverted the ball into his path from a corner.

It means the hosts have now gained 33 of their 43 points this calendar year at home.

Richarlison, restored to the Everton line-up after appearing as a substitute at Burnley on Wednesday, twice went close to scoring for the visitors.

But home goalkeeper David Button saved well from point-blank range in the first half and pushed a shot on to the post in the second period.

Kurt Zouma's late header almost rescued a point for the visitors but he hit the crossbar as Brighton held on.

The result leaves Everton in 10th and Brighton 13th.

Brighton well placed to survive with something to spare

Brighton may no longer be top-flight novices but their primary aim at the start of this campaign will have been to retain their Premier League status.

On this evidence they are well placed to do that, and to surpass their achievements from last season when they finished on 40 points in 15th position.

This hard-fought victory ensured the Seagulls are four points better off than at the same stage a year ago and can boast a better goal difference.

Manager Chris Hughton will also be delighted with an 11-point cushion to the relegation zone, especially given their formidable home record.

While they were hanging on in the closing stages against Everton, their resilience at the Amex was epitomised by the central defensive pairing of Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy as well as the performance of stand-in goalkeeper David Button.

Dunk played a captain's role, cajoling his team-mates to maintain their effort, and Duffy made more than double the number of clearances (11) of any other player on the park.

In Button, featuring because Mat Ryan was absent on international duty with Australia, they also had the game's outstanding performer, with the goalkeeper twice superbly repelling efforts from Richarlison that could have turned the contest.

Predictably unpredictable Everton

Everton's biggest problem is that you are never quite sure which face Marco Silva's side will display.

Having being thrashed 6-2 by Spurs before Christmas, Silva's side then produced a wonderful attacking display to deliver a thumping 5-1 victory at Burnley on Boxing Day.

This performance saw them revert to something rather less than wonderful, their passing often too one-paced to outfox the well-drilled hosts.

While Silva attempted to retrieve a point by introducing Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse to support Theo Walcott and Richarlison, the visitors' forward line shared the same attributes - pace and movement but little physical presence.

Richarlison may have a creditable return of nine goals from 18 league games this season but this was one of those days when they missed the presence of a prolific centre-forward - an issue since Romelu Lukaku's departure to Manchester United in 2017.

The Brazil forward twice went close but he did so coming in from wider positions, away from Duffy and Dunk who dominated the central areas.

And he stayed on the periphery throughout, managing just 33 touches in total.

Man of the match - David Button (Brighton)

David Button excelled on his first league start for Brighton following a summer move from Fulham

'It's been a good year' - What they said

Brighton manager Chris Houghton speaking to BBC Sport: "We were holding on a bit at the end - they went to a 4-2-4 with real quality up front. But I thought we were good value for our win against a team in very good form.

"We wanted start this well in other matches, and sometimes a bit of fear sets in against the big teams. Generally at home we are good and start well. That lifted the crowd, and the players had the confidence to go through the game. We had good enough passages throughout to win the game.

"For all David Button's experience it is not easy for a keeper to just step in. Mat Ryan has been good for us. Button was excellent today. You train as hard as he does, when you step into a match you're going to play well.

"Locadia had a bit of fortune, but he was in the right place. He is used to scoring goals and had to wait a while.

"It has been a good year on the back of two good performances against two good teams. It puts us in good stead."

Everton manager Marco Silva speaking to BBC Sport:

"It wasn't out best performance. Tough match - we expected that. They do well at home, they take most of their points here and we knew that.

"If you look through and analyse the match we had the best chances to score. In one moment one deflection gave them a chance to score. But we had the most chances to score.

"It is something we don't want. We had a good run in our performance and in our results. Now we are in a different moment, we have to react. The result was not fair but that's football. Now we have to prepare for the next game.

"What I spoke with the referee at the end and maybe the reason the players were angry in that moment is the referee has to control the game. It was a difficult match for both teams. It was really really difficult for the referee. We as a team have conditions to do better - I think the referee has too, but that's football. It wasn't a good game to see."

Everton's south coast blues - the stats

• Brighton have lost only two of their past 13 Premier League home games (W6 D5), scoring at least once in each fixture.

• Everton are without a win in their past eight Premier League away games against south coast teams (D3 L5), since a 3-0 victory against Southampton in August 2015.

• This was Brighton manager Chris Hughton's first Premier League win against Everton since February 2013 (2-1 in charge of Norwich).

• Brighton kept their first clean sheet in the Premier League since October (1-0 v Wolves), ending a run of nine consecutive games without one.

• Everton have not won back-to-back away games in the Premier League since September 2016 (under Ronald Koeman).

• Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has conceded 15 goals in the Premier League in December, as many as he had in August, September, October and November of this season combined (15).

What's next?

Brighton resume Premier League action on Wednesday 2 January at West Ham (19:45 GMT). Everton welcome Leicester City to Goodison Park a day earlier, on Tuesday 1 January (12:30 GMT).