Brighton snapped a six-match winless run with a comfortable home victory over second-bottom Burnley.
Georginio Rutter gave Brighton a first-half lead before Yasin Ayari doubled the advantage early in the second period. Loum Tchaouna came close to halving the deficit, but Scott Parker’s struggling side remain six points adrift of Nottingham Forest in 17th after their wait for a league victory stretched to 11 games.
Brighton began the day in 14th position after picking up three points from 18 available during December, while Burnley had collected two from a possible 30 dating back to October.
Charalampos Kostoulas, who made his first Premier League start as part of four changes from Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at West Ham, was denied a 10th-minute opener by a marginal offside.
Brighton continued to be the dominant side and edged ahead in the 29th minute with their first attempt on target. After Ayari’s effort from the edge of the penalty area deflected off Kostoulas, the ball broke kindly for Rutter to slam home his second goal of the season into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle.
