Danny Welbeck scored a brace as Brighton recorded a 2-1 Premier League victory over Newcastle at the Amex Stadium.
Eddie Howe’s visitors looked to have rescued a point their efforts warranted when Nick Woltemade produced a sublime moment of skill to equalise with a devilish back-heel, 14 minutes from time.
Brighton had gone ahead in the first half through Welbeck, who clipped a lovely finish past Nick Pope after Newcastle’s midfield had seemingly evaporated.
And the former England forward produced another flash of poise and precision to bend home an 84th-minute winner, as Fabian Hurzeler’s side made it three wins this season against Champions League opposition.
Newcastle might wonder fairly how they had lost a game which they largely had seemed to control, though Brighton’s clinical attacking play was a threat that never went away.
Early on, Joelinton played the ball blindly deep inside his own half to the lurking Welbeck, who with speed of thought laid it off to Georginio Rutter.
Pope had to be at full stretch to get down low and save his team as Rutter shot low for the corner.
Yankuba Minteh then got in down the right for Brighton but chose to pass rather than to shoot. The ball was never on, allowing Malick Thiaw to shovel it to safety.
Brighton lost Diego Gomez after 35 minutes, following an earlier collision with Pope. It did nothing to disturb their rhythm and they went in ahead at half-time.
Rutter took possession in midfield and seemed to wrong-foot Sandro Tonali and the rest of the Newcastle midfield with a clever, sudden burst down the centre, driving into space and rolling the ball up for Welbeck, who glided into a wide-open hole between the two central defenders to finish with unerring cool.
Minteh helped carve a glorious opening for his team early after the break. Neither Kaoru Mitoma nor Welbeck would accept invitations to shoot, knocking it back it instead for Yasin Ayari to swerve one agonisingly wide.
Next it was Ayari’s turn to dither when eye to eye with Pope, passing the ball instead of shooting and furthering a trend that was by now audibly exasperating home supporters, who wailed in vain for a strike on goal.
Bruno Guimaraes bounced off Mitoma’s challenge and brought an excellent save from Bart Verbruggen, then from the follow-up Newcastle were unfortunate a VAR inspection for a possible handball did not receive greater scrutiny.
They would be level moments later and it was a finish to live long in the memory. Lewis Miley’s reverse ball to Woltemade was smart but did not tee up the striker for an obvious goalscoring chance.
In a perfect moment marrying imagination with timing and technique, Woltemade stepped across the ball, turned his back and knocked it with his heel across goal and into the corner.
Guimaraes ought to have won it for Newcastle after Verbruggen flapped hopelessly at danger inside the box, his snap shot deflected over by Ayari.
They would rue the missed opportunity. After Dan Burn slid to block Mats Wieffer’s shot, positioned perfectly nearby was Welbeck, who stayed calm and swung a languid right boot to curl home Brighton’s winner.
