Brighton gave themselves a Europa League lifeline as Joao Pedro’s late penalty completed a comeback from two goals down away to Marseille and helped Roberto De Zerbi’s side avoid a second straight European defeat. Pedro slotted home in the 88th minute after Tariq Lamptey was tripped inside the box, earning the visitors what had looked an unlikely point when Marseille duo Chancel Mbemba and Jordan Veretout struck two goals within a minute of each other in the first half. At that stage, a badly out-of-sorts Brighton looked like they would be lucky to avoid the kind of thrashing Aston Villa meted out to them on Saturday. Marseille threw everything at them, whilst the visitors gave only space and encouragement. Still they held on, figured out how to contain Gennaro Gattuso’s side, and hit back. Pascal Gross made it 2-1 after 56 minutes, and from there their pressure grew until Pedro’s dramatic intervention at the death. Marseille started with high energy, roared on by the support of a noisy Stade Velodrome. Amine Harit tested the reflexes of Jason Steele early, lifting a free-kick over the wall and requiring the Brighton goalkeeper to leap and flick it over the bar. Gattuso’s side had conceded 10 goals in their last three games and were winless in five, but this was a confident opening that defied their lowly Ligue 1 position of 12th. Brighton by contrast were lethargic off the ball and careless when on it, giving away possession as they sought to play out through midfield, inviting pressure onto themselves. After 19 minutes, that pressure yielded a goal. Kaoru Mitoma slipped as he sought to close the ball down, allowing France international Jonathan Clauss space to charge down the right flank and, after linking up with Iliman Ndiaye, he fired in low cross which the unmarked Mbemba – the former Newcastle defender – guided home first-time past Steele from near the penalty spot. There was barely time for De Zerbi to take stock before it was 2-0, and it was Brighton captain Lewis Dunk on his European debut whose mistake set things in motion, missing his kick and losing the ball inside his own half, allowing Harit time to size up a cross. With Dunk out of position Joel Veltman came across to clear but was fractionally too slow to prevent Veretout beating him to it and striking it beyond Steele, who appeared to let the ball bounce through his hands. Then came what appeared to be Brighton’s road back. The referee was called to the pitchside monitor to adjudicate on a possible Marseille handball inside their box and initially said penalty. After a moment of confusion, VAR ruled there had been an earlier foul, and Brighton’s lifeline was whipped away. With the home support buoyed into a deafening chorus, Marseille sought the third goal to bury Brighton and Steele was called on again to turn over a long-range Harit effort. Pau Lopez in the hosts’ goal twice denied Brighton late in the half, first flinging himself to keep out Ansu Fati’s header then blocking with his feet after Danny Welbeck raced clear from Veltman’s through-ball. The second half began with renewed Marseille pressure and so it was against the run of play that Gross hauled Brighton back into it. Lamptey carried the ball almost to the byline and tucked it back for Mitoma, who looked up to see Gross arriving in the box and teed him up to make it 2-1. It had a transformative effect and suddenly Brighton had found their rhythm. The wayward passing of the first half became accurate and direct, and now it was Marseille conceding possession cheaply. They still had a chance to restore a two-goal lead when substitute Vitinha looked to have got the better of Dunk after a hoofed ball up from Lopez, but the captain recovered brilliantly to block. Mitoma struck a left-footed effort too close to Lopez allowing the goalkeeper to parry as Brighton’s intensified their threat. Then, late drama and a chance for De Zerbi’s side to salvage their European campaign. Clauss dived in on Lamptey as he looked to dart into a channel inside the box, and the referee did not hesitate. From the spot, substitute Pedro defied the pressure to send Brighton home with a point. Read More West Ham maintain Europa League momentum with win in Germany Managerless Rangers slip to Europa League defeat in Limassol Coco Gauff reaches last eight of China Open and takes winning run to 15 matches Gregor Townsend confident Scotland can get what they need from Ireland game Jos Buttler: New Zealand completely outplayed England in World Cup opener The Haggard Badger’s value to Ireland highlighted ahead of milestone match

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Manchester City signed Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg, on this day in 2015. City paid a then club-record fee, reported to be in the region of £54million, for a man who has been at the heart of what they have achieved since. The 24-year-old, who arrived in the Premier League as Germany’s footballer of the year, signed an initial six-year contract to launch the latest, spectacularly-successful phase of his career. Born in the Drongen district of Ghent, De Bruyne began his professional career at Genk and was a Belgian title-winner in 2010-11, prompting Chelsea to invest £6.7million in his services in January 2012, although he remained at his first club for the remainder of that campaign before joining Werder Bremen on a season-long loan deal. The midfield schemer finally made his Blues debut in a 2-0 Premier League victory over Hull in August 2013, providing the assist for Oscar’s opening goal in an impressive display. However, that proved to be one of only nine senior appearances for the club and he was sold to Wolfsburg in the January of the following year. I just want to win Kevin De Bruyne Speaking shortly before his £18million departure for the Bundesliga, then Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said: “We know that Kevin didn’t adapt very well to the difficult life a Chelsea player has.” If English football had proved testing for the blossoming Belgian, he found his feet in style in Germany and returned to the Premier League as one of the most promising talents in the world game when he arrived at the Etihad Stadium. He said at the time: “I just want to win. I won two cups at Wolfsburg and I just want to keep on winning and I think here’s a good chance to win some titles with a team who have a lot of quality players.” That has proved something of an understatement. Since making his City debut as a substitute in a 1-0 league win at Crystal Palace on September 12, 2015, De Bruyne has helped the club win the Champions League, five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the League Cup on five occasions. Twice named PFA footballer of the year, he has also been capped 99 times and scored 26 goals for Belgium, whom he has represented at three World Cup finals tournaments. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Andy Murray leads perfect day for Brits at US Open Injury withdrawal hands Carlos Alcaraz quick route into US Open second round Venus Williams knocked out by Greet Minnen in first round of US Open

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Arsenal hope to maintain their unbeaten start to the Premier League season as they travel to struggling Everton on Sunday afternoon. Mikel Arteta’s are riding high after clinching a late victory over Manchester United in their last match before the international break to make it 10 points from their opening four matches and they’ll look to take that momentum into today’s encounter. Manchester, Liverpool and Tottenham are setting the early pace at the top of the table so it would be a big error if Arsenal were to drop points at Goodison Park. Sean Dyche’s side, meanwhile, picked up their opening points of the season with a 2-2 away draw against Sheffield United. The Toffees won this fixture 1-0 last season in Dyche’s first game in charge and will be hoping for a repeat performance to kickstart their league campaign. Follow all the action from Goodison Park below. Get all the latest football betting sites offers here and the latest Premier League odds here. Read More Mikel Arteta claims Gabriel Jesus ‘changed Arsenal’s world’ when he joined the club Mikel Arteta keen to end Arsenal’s Everton hoodoo despite ’emotional connection’ Shambolic Manchester United endure crowd dissent after humbling defeat to Brighton

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