October 05, (THEWILL) – Brighton and Hove Albion rescued a 2-2 draw away to Marseille in the Europa League on Thursday, thanks to a late Joao Pedro penalty.
The visitors had trailed 2-0 at half-time after strikes from Chancel Mbemba and Jordan Veretout. But Pascal Gross pulled a goal back on 56 minutes to give Brighton hope. The Seagulls piled on pressure in search of an equaliser and got their reward when Pedro slotted home from the spot in the 88th minute after Tariq Lamptey was fouled.
Marseille made a flying start at a raucous Stade Velodrome and deserved their 2-0 lead. Mbemba opened the scoring on 19 minutes before Veretout added a second just a minute later after a mistake from Lewis Dunk. Brighton struggled after the break but improved after Gross’s goal. Roberto De Zerbi’s side finished strongly and Pedro’s cool finish earned them a point.
The draw gives Brighton’s Europa League hopes a boost after losing their opening game at home to Frankfurt. Marseille will be disappointed not to get the victory after dominating the first half. But Brighton showed resilience to battle back and claim what could be a precious point.
The result leaves AEK Athens leading Group B on four points while Marseille and Ajax have two each after matchday two fixtures. On Sunday, Brighton host Liverpool in English premier League action whilst Marseille host Le Havre at the Stade Orange Velodrome both on Sunday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
