A lively Elland Road seemed to will a late goal out of the hosts, as Leeds United gained a heaping dose of safety hope with a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Pascal Struijk headed a late Joe Gelhardt cross past Robert Sanchez to deliver Leeds a 35th point -- one more than 18th-place Burnley -- in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
WATCH LEEDS vs BRIGHTON FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM
Burnley has two matches left and Leeds has just one, a May 22 trip to Brentford. Everton has two more points and three matches left as of post time, the first coming at 11:30am ET Sunday.
Danny Welbeck scored early for the Seagulls and Sanchez made three saves. Brighton sits 10th with 49 points and can finish no higher than eighth.
Leeds vs Brighton final score, stats
Leeds 1, Brighton 1
Scorers: Welbeck (21'), Struijk (90'+2)
Shot attempts: Leeds 19, Brighton 15
Shots on goal: Leeds 5, Brighton 6
Possession: Leeds 50, Brighton 50
Three things we learned from Leeds vs Brighton
1. Marsch gets magic late: Leeds United needed at least one result even if Burnley didn’t win another match this season and they got it in thrilling style, as American coach Jesse Marsch saw his men continue to fight to the wire. It didn’t hurt that Elland Road was fully behind its men, who were led by Raphinha and Joe Gelhardt before Struijk became the late talisman off the bench. Brentford away to finish the season is going to be consequential, and Leeds could hold its fate in its hands if Burnley loses midweek at Aston Villa.
2. Seagulls cannot summon desperation: Leeds came firing out of the gates but looked second-best to Brighton for large portions of the match, but the Seagulls had to deal with several surges from the hosts. The penultimate one was too much to keep the 1-0 lead, though Brighton did manage to handle the final push for a winner. Graham Potter will still be unhappy to drop two points late, but it’s an easy draw to comprehend given the circumstances.
3. Gelhardt impresses: Leeds glory often goes to Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha -- and rightly so -- but you can see why the Elland Road set are so high on England U-20 forward Joe Gelhardt. His relentless work late in the game combined with fancy footwork to free himself up for the chipped assist to Struijk caught the eye.
Man of the Match: Marc Cucurella -- The Barcelona product continues to show he was built for the speed and rigors of the Premier League. He had two key passes to go with three tackles, two interceptions, and three clearances.
Welbeck puts Brighton ahead
Struijk delivers a point
