Welbeck’s last-ditch attempt fails to win points for Brighton against Brentford

As Roberto De Zerbi would attest, a month can be a long time in football. At the start of March, the Brighton manager was being linked with a move to Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Liverpool in the summer after taking Brighton to the last-16 of the Europa League.

Yet having admitted this week that his future on the south coast remains uncertain despite having two years left on his contract and demanding talks with owner Tony Bloom “to understand their plan”, the manner of his side’s performance in this clash of styles is unlikely to have convinced any of Europe’s big hitters that he is the manager to take them forward.

Instead it was Brentford who came closest to taking all three points that would have eased their relegation worries and ended a seven-match wait for victory, although Thomas Frank’s side lacked a cutting edge and had to settle for a share of the spoils that should at last go some way to securing their Premier League status for another year.

Fresh from announcing a record Premier League profit of £122.8m that does not even include the £115m Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo, Bloom took his customary place in the away end for Brighton’s trip to west London.

His feud with Brentford’s owner Matthew Benham, who has reportedly hired prestigious firm Rothschild to oversee a process that could involve the sale of a controlling stake of the club, goes back to 2004 when Bloom sacked him from his company, Premier Bet. The pair have not spoken since and the Brentford owner would have been even more desperate to see his side end their winless run against his bitter rival given their perilous league position but it wasn’t to be this time.

Bloom always travels to this fixture on the team bus and would have had plenty of opportunity to discuss his future plans with De Zerbi on the way, although those talks are expected to be put on ice until the end of the season. Oh to be fly on the wall when they do. The Italian was at least able to select João Pedro for the first time since the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace as one of four changes from the defeat against Liverpool.

Brentford were unchanged from their dramatic draw against Manchester United, with Frank resisting the temptation to hand Bryan Mbeumo his first start since sustaining an ankle injury during the reverse fixture in December.

It was his replacement Yoane Wissa who had the first opportunity after a cagey start from both sides, when he fired wide from a Keane Lewis-Potter cross. The hosts seemed far more intent on attacking at pace, with De Zerbi growing increasingly animated as his side struggled to create any meaningful chances in the first half an hour.

Ivan Toney produced a weak shot from close range with his first sight of goal and it was a similar story at the other end when Pedro wriggled free inside the area but could only find the gloves of Mark Flekken.

Brighton at last found some rhythm as Carlos Baleba began to impose himself in midfield and Adam Lallana saw his effort from 25 yards out fizz past the post. The Cameroonian then forced Flekken into a save after controlling the ball on his chest, with referee Andrew Madley ruling that Lewis Dunk had fouled Wissa first when they tangled at the resulting corner despite being sent to review the incident by VAR.

Wissa thought he should have had a penalty himself at the start of the second half after going shoulder to shoulder with Jan Paul van Hecke but Madley again waved away the appeals.

De Zerbi pulled his coat up over his head in reaction to Facundo Buonanotte being shown a yellow card for a reckless foul on Nathan Collins and could not hide his frustration at his side’s ineffectiveness. Frank threw on Mbeumo in the hope of snatching a late victory but it was Danny Welbeck who had the best chance to win it by dragging a shot wide in injury time.