Brighton claim first win in seven by beating struggling Burnley

Brighton soared to eighth place in the Premier League by snapping a six-match winless run with a comfortable 2-0 success over second-bottom Burnley.

Georginio Rutter gave the Seagulls a first-half lead on a bitterly-cold afternoon at the Amex Stadium before Yasin Ayari doubled the advantage early in the second period.

Substitute Loum Tchaouna came close to halving the deficit but Scott Parker’s struggling Clarets remain six points from Nottingham Forest in 17th after their wait for a top-flight victory stretched to 11 games.

Brighton began the day in 14th position after picking up only three points from 18 available during December, while Burnley arrived in Sussex having collected just two from a possible 30 dating back to October.

Seagulls forward 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.

Albion 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 18-yard box deflected off Kostoulas, the ball broke kindly for Rutter to slam his second goal of the season into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle.

Burnley, who made three changes following a 3-1 midweek loss to Newcastle, failed to win any of their previous 39 matches when conceding first in the Premier League.

The visitors threatened to snatch an equaliser in first-half added time when Lucas Pires’ low shot was repelled by the left leg of Seagulls goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

That opportunity proved to be a pivotal moment as Brighton doubled their advantage within two minutes of the restart.

Clarets midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu conceded