Hurzeler wins That Way while Bournemouth eye Premier League record in 3pm Blackout | OneFootball

Brighton won 1-0 thanks to a scruffy set-piece goal, much to the presumed fury of Fabian Hurzeler, while Bournemouth obviously drew.

The Saturday 3pm games did not deliver particularly high quality, with a single goal scored across 180 minutes in Lancashire and on Wearside.

But in the undying thirst for content, have 400-odd words about time we will never get back.

Sunderland 0 Brighton 1 – Black Cats lose at home again to flying Seagulls

After successfully buttressing their Premier League survival bid with a 12-match unbeaten run at the Stadium of Light, three straight home defeats has checked some of Sunderland’s more outlandish European projections.

Liverpool, Fulham and now Brighton have breached the former fortress as what once promised to be a memorable season on Wearside has petered out somewhat.

Mid-table safety on 40 points in March still represents a commendable achievement for the highest-placed promoted club, but a run of one win in six Premier League games combined with the pitiful FA Cup defeat to Port Vale feels especially anti-climactic.

Their campaign probably peaked in mid-December with victory over Newcastle. In a table of results since then, Sunderland are 16th and above only Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Spurs, with no side having scored fewer goals.

It is, again, still a wonderful accomplishment to secure their Premier League place with no sign of real danger at any point whatsoever. But Sunderland’s last few months are a pertinent reminder that the work to retain their top-flight status never really stops.

They are level on points with Brighton but the Seagulls have momentum in their favour.

Fabian Hurzeler has moved past his Mikel Arteta-inspired tantrum and can continue looking up the table after wins over Brentford, Nottingham Forest and the Black Cats, who were put down by Yankuba Minteh’s fortunate, entirely mis-hit cross.

The way Brighton were able to grind the result out from there gives credence to their own European ambitions. And a 1-0 win from an uncleared corner suggests Hurzeler’s qualms about winning That Way were never particularly staunch.

Burnley 0 Bournemouth 0 – Iraola eyes Premier League record

Andoni Iraola called the 1-1 draw with Burnley in December “one of the worst” of Bournemouth’s season.

There has been plenty to pick from: 14 after a stalemate at Turf Moor in which both sides hit the woodwork, and 37 shots produced zero goals.

Bournemouth’s current ten-match unbeaten run includes four consecutive draws, three of which have been 0-0. They are three off the record for most draws in a 38-game Premier League season with eight games remaining.

It is proof of their continued and understandable attacking struggles in a post-Semenyo world, but also testament to their defensive improvement. As Iraola quite perceptively put it after the game: “We are not conceding goals but we are not scoring.”

That is especially the case recently, but four points from as many games against Burnley and West Ham does underline some missed opportunities for a Bournemouth side which could be aiming higher.