Potter orders a Mac and cheers

THERE must have been a fair amount of introspection from Graham Potter as he trudged towards the temporary away dressing room at the opposite end of Turf Moor when half- time arrived.

Burnley led through James Tarkowski and were good for it. Brighton’s manager had not quite called things correctly and deep down he probably knew that.

For large parts, this opening day felt like an episode in trial and error for Potter, who had even chosen Pascal Gross as an inverted left back to begin with, but his changes saw them fly back south with crucial points.

A tweak in formation at the break, reverting to the trusty back three and moving Gross from left to right as well, and later the impact of two changes, saw this turn with 17 minutes to go.

First Neal Maupay equalised, nudging ahead of his marker to stab home a cross by substitute Jakub Moder before another one off the bench, Alexis Mac Allister, sealed the points five minutes later.

Mac Allister, who had been at the Olympics with Argentina, offers an extra edge in the final third and Burnley could not cope. ‘The subs made an impact,’ said Potter. ‘Bringing Adam Lallana on gave us a little bit more control. The pre- season we’ve had has been disrupted and it’s not been easy to get stability. You’re just asking players to react well.’

Sean Dyche — whose s i de deserved more, losing the game in much the same way Brighton had so often last year — will be particularly annoyed given a tough run of fixtures to come, starting at Anfield next Saturday.

There felt a proper sense of normality around Turf Moor for those returning fans, and not just their familiar surroundings: Dyche made just two changes from the team that drew here against Tottenham the last time this stadium was in full operation 17 months ago. That speaks to a club requiring a fresh boost of investment.

Given the chaotic nature of Burnley at the moment, they needed an early fillip to settle down everybody here a touch. Tarkowski obliged two minutes in. A Burnley corner, whipped with menace by Ashley Westwood, was t here t o attack. The central defender fancied it, whereas Maupay did not. Tarkowski knocked the striker to the ground and completed the job with his head.

Maupay cried foul, although there must be some inquisition as to why it was him left to deal with Tarkowski from a set piece.

Meanwhile, Brighton were not learning lessons from corners. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez flapped at another, Ben Mee returning it his way but only against the bar, with Tarkowski then volleying over.

‘ We’ve created enough good chances today,’ said Dyche. ‘It’s a continued search for putting them away. At 1-0 you always think, “is this going to be an odd one?” ’

Those fears were eventually confirmed — partly due to his opposite number, who replaced £20million signing Enock Mwepu with Lallana among others.

Brighton were boasting a lot of the ball without a punch. They grew more optimistic, however, a little more settled, and equalised on 73 minutes. The game was stretched by substitute Moder on the right, looking up for Maupay haring towards the six-yard box and nodding in.

Burnley momentarily froze and that was enough to take this away from them. Gross was given acres in the same position as Moder down the right and had time to pick out Mac Allister, ghosting in to sweep a winner.