Brighton halted a six-game winless run in the Premier League with an impressive victory over Brentford to ease the pressure on manager Fabian Hurzeler.
The Seagulls had failed to find the net since a 1-1 draw with Everton on 31st January but they were the better side at the Gtech Community Stadium and deservedly took a two-goal lead into half-time.
Jack Hinshelwood and Kaoru Mitoma had already gone close by the time Ferdi Kadioglu’s spectacular long-range effort rattled off the crossbar and into the path of Diego Gomez, who showed great composure to open the scoring from the rebound.
Brentford defender Nathan Collins, who had only just replaced the injured Aaron Hickey, was at fault for the visitors’ second as he made a complete mess of clearing Hinshelwood’s low cross into Welbeck, who was left with a simple close-range finish.
Brentford did have opportunities of their own, Igor Thiago sending a half-volley over the crossbar and Vitaly Janelt missing the target with a delicate left-footed strike from just outside the box, but the Bees were far from their best.
On a memorable afternoon for Brighton, 40-year-old midfielder James Milner made his 654th Premier League outing in west London to break Gareth Barry’s long-standing top-flight appearance record.
The victory lifts Brighton 10 points clear of the relegation zone while Brentford miss the chance to climb into the top six.
