Brighton secured a third consecutive Premier League victory with a 2-0 win at Sunderland, overcoming a controversial red card to maintain their impressive form.
Maxim de Cuyper opened the scoring before Pascal Struijk’s dismissal left the visitors with 10 men for more than half an hour.
Jaouen Hadjam then struck in stoppage time to seal the points.
The result keeps Brighton third, two points behind joint-leaders Manchester City and Arsenal.
Sunderland remain 16th after a third successive defeat and could finish the weekend in the relegation zone.
A closely contested first half almost ended with Brighton ahead.
Sunderland switched off at a free-kick, allowing Struijk an unchallenged header that bounced against the far post with the final touch before the interval.
The breakthrough arrived in the 53rd minute through another moment of creativity from Pascal Gross.
His precise pass released De Cuyper down the left, and the Belgian slid a low finish beyond Robin Roefs.
Four minutes later, the match took a contentious turn when Wilson Isidor went down while attempting to reach a through-ball under pressure from Struijk.
Referee Thomas Bramall and his assistant initially allowed play to continue, but VAR official Neil Davies recommended an on-field review.
After repeatedly watching the incident, Bramall showed Struijk a straight red card, prompting disbelief among the Brighton players.
Sunderland could not capitalise on their numerical advantage, and Brighton remained disciplined before extending their lead on the counter-attack.
Hadjam finished the move with a low shot across Roefs in added time, registering his first goal for the club and securing another victory for Fabian Hurzeler’s side.
Brighton entered the fixture as the Premier League’s leading scorers, and their latest victory means they have scored 10 unanswered goals across three successive league wins.
It is the first time in eight years that the Seagulls have put together such a winning run in the competition.
This success also demonstrated their resilience.
After a tight opening half, Brighton found a breakthrough and then protected their advantage despite losing a defender shortly afterwards.
Gross once again played a decisive role.
Sunderland restricted his influence before the break, but his pass for De Cuyper unlocked their defence early in the second half.
The 35-year-old now has seven goal involvements from six league appearances this season, with only Joao Pedro contributing to more top-flight goals.
He also became the oldest player to provide an assist in three consecutive Premier League matches since Ryan Giggs achieved the feat for Manchester United in February 2012, aged 38 years and 68 days.
Keeping Gross fit will be particularly important as Brighton negotiate seven matches in 21 days.
Sunderland’s attacking difficulties highlighted the impact of Brian Brobbey’s absence.
The striker, who scored a hat-trick against Manchester City in their final league game before the international break, suffered a minor hamstring injury during the Netherlands’ draw with Germany.
Regis le Bris was also without first-choice centre-back Dan Ballard and influential midfielder Habib Diarra, leaving his squad stretched ahead of a demanding schedule that includes Europa League fixtures.
Without Brobbey, Sunderland struggled to create clear opportunities, even after Brighton were reduced to 10 men.
Their injury problems worsened when experienced wide player Thomas Meunier was forced off with a knock during the first half.
Malick Fofana, whose inclusion in the starting line-up has been urged by supporters, came off the bench but could not provide the spark Sunderland needed.
A fourth defeat in six league matches leaves Le Bris facing mounting concerns over both his side’s attacking threat and the availability of several key players.
