When Norwich City (likely) goes down to the Championship and Brighton eyes its bottom-half status after this season, both can point to Saturday’s scoreless draw at the Amex Stadium as indicative of their missed season goals.
A missed penalty for one side off a terrible pen to concede in the first place. A missed sitter for the other. Myriad final-third passes for the ascendant hosts that were a foot off the mark.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
Brighton took 31 shots and had 63 percent of the ball but Neal Maupay mailed a first-half penalty over the bar and Tim Krul made four saves to help Norwich to its 18th point, seven off safety with three more matches played than 17th-place Everton.
Brighton stays 13th with 34 points, 12 clear of the bottom three but now 15 back of a top-seven spot, something that seemed reasonable even two months ago.
WATCH BRIGHTON vs NORWICH FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM
Brighton vs Norwich final score, stats
Brighton 0, Norwich City 0
Shots: Brighton 31, Norwich City 6
Shots on target: Brighton 4, Norwich City 0
Possession: Brighton 63, Norwich City 27
Three things we learned from Brighton vs Norwich
1. Krul career, innit? Tim Krul has made marvelous saves on bad teams the story of his career, though there certainly were some bright spots with two Championship titles and third place at the 2014 World Cup. But he must rival Ben Foster for being an absolute show-stopper at times on teams like Newcastle and Norwich City, bailing out shot-hemorrhaging clubs.
2. Finisher, please. Brighton’s misses in front of goal will be further magnified by Maupay’s penalty sent well over the bar. There were also moments of robbery, like Krul’s point-blank stop of international teammates Joel Veltman, who playful shoved Krul down before the ensuing corner. But even a minor upgrade on Maupay or a real center forward for him to run off of likely has the Seagulls in the top seven conversation.
3. Brighton’s buys: From Marc Cucurella -- who was fantastic at left back -- to Leandro Trossard -- who was busy doing an Eden Hazard in his prime impression on Saturday, the Seagulls have purchased so many players perfect for Graham Potter’s system (and if they were already there when Potter was hired, credit the Seagulls for selecting that boss).
Man of the Match: Grant Hanley -- Thirteen clearances and three blocked shots in front of Krul, keeping him ahead of Krul and Brighton left back Marc Cucurella for MOTM honors.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
