Brighton secured a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League after João Pedro’s second-half penalty earned an unconvincing victory against 10-man AEK Athens. The in-form forward hit his fifth goal of the competition in the 55th minute to guarantee the visitors a top-two finish in Group B.
Brighton were second best before the VAR-awarded spot-kick and fortunate not to fall behind in the closing stages of the first half when the AEK forward Steven Zuber struck a post. The lively hosts were forced to play the final 25 minutes a man down after Mijat Gacinovic’s dismissal for a second yellow card.