Muniz late show secures Fulham point at Brighton

Brighton & Hove Albion were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham in their Premier League opener at the American Express Stadium on Saturday after a 96th-minute equaliser from Rodrigo Muniz.

Matt O'Riley made no mistake from the penalty spot after half-time and thought he had secured the three points for Fabian Hürzeler's side in a game lacking clear-cut chances.

But deep into stoppage time, up stepped Muniz with a finish low into the bottom left corner that ensured Fulham left the south coast with a point. 

Fulham had plenty of the ball after falling behind early in the second-half but rode their luck and rarely tested Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen before the late twist.

Brighton handed a debut to Belgium left-back Maxim De Cuyper, while the visitors gave only a second top-flight start to England under-19 midfielder Josh King amid a quiet summer transfer window which has so far brought only back-up keeper Benjamin Lecomte to the club.

Seagulls winger Yankuba Minteh, who had an early finish disallowed due to the ball going behind before Carlos Baleba crossed, sparked outrage from Fulham boss Marco Silva by flattening King with a robust challenge.

There were then penalty appeals from Fulham's bench when lively 18-year-old King went down in Albion's box under pressure from defender Jan Paul van Hecke and keeper Verbruggen.

Brighton had plenty of possession and the better of the limited first-half chances.

Rutter's low shot was comfortably saved by Bernd Leno before Kaoru Mitoma headed O'Riley's cross on to the roof of the net. They went on to lead within 10 minutes of the restart.

Rutter went to ground after tangling with Berge as he burst into the 18-yard area and O'Riley, who scored from the spot in a 4-1 win at Tottenham on the final day of last season, confidently dispatched the ball into the bottom left corner.

Fulham left-back Calvin Bassey wanted a penalty at the other end after being barged over by Baleba before a stronger shout -- when King appeared to be caught by Yasin Ayari -- was also waved away by referee Sam Barrott.

Hürzeler's side began to drop deeper while seeking to secure breathing space on the break.

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Minteh blazed over following good play from Mitoma before substitute Diego Gómez almost deceived Fulham keeper Leno with a long-range effort.

Brighton winger Brajan Gruda should then have put the result beyond doubt late on.

That miss looked academic but, after Verbruggen touched wide a low shot from Emile Smith Rowe, Wilson's right-wing corner flicked off the head of Lewis Dunk before being controlled and finished by Muniz at the far post in front of the delirious travelling fans.