Troy Deeney labelled Bart Verbruggen’s error against Chelsea ‘an absolute stinker’ but his Brighton teammates bailed him out of jail.
Coming off a 7-0 mauling at the hands of Nottingham Forest in their last fixture, Brighton secured a much-needed win to book a spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup as they beat the Blues 2-1 at the Amex Stadium.
However, they had to come from behind as the Seagulls’ best-laid plans were wrecked after just five minutes.
Jadon Sancho fizzed a diagonal pass towards Cole Palmer, who was stationed out on the left flank.
Palmer looked to catch Brighton’s backline off-guard and volleyed the ball across goal with a first-time effort.
However, the Chelsea star’s effort was directed towards Verbruggen and looked like it would be a routine save for the Dutchman
Instead, the Seagulls goalkeeper misjudged the flight and bounce of the ball as it cannoned off his shoulder and into the back of the net.
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A number of the Brighton players put their hands on their heads in sheer disbelief at their teammate’s shocking error.
Speaking on commentary, talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook labelled it as ‘an absolute calamity from Verbruggen.’