Brighton chief makes honest defensive admission after 'punishing' Everton loss

Dominic Calvert-Lewin celebrated his first England call-up by scoring in a fourth successive Premier League match as Everton returned to the top of the table for 24 hours at least.

Neal Maupay levelled for Brighton but Yerry Mina headed Everton back into the lead just before the internal. The excellent James Rodriguez scored twice for Everton in the second before Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma fired home a late consolation for the visitors.

Click here to see how Brighton players rated at Everton"I don't think Everton had so many chances but we helped them, second half certainly," said Potter. "To concede just before half time was a blow for us and then we didn't start the second half so well.

"I think we contributed a little bit to our downfall today and that is something we need to be better at.

"No problem with the players, they kept going and kept trying. Decision making in the second half is where we could do better.

"We have conceded all our goals against Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton and they are what you consider to be top sixish teams.

"We are punished for not too much and at the same time today we contributed a bit ourselves."

Calvert-Lewin became the first Everton player to score in the opening four matches of a Premier League season and the first English player to make it four in four at any time since academy graduate Francis Jeffers in September 2000.

His hanging far-post header, from which he scored via Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 16th-minute cross to give the hosts a deserved lead, is fast becoming a trademark.

Pickford will be disappointed with the equaliser as, on a wet day, the ball slipped from his grasp, presenting Maupay with a simple tap-in.

Mina spared his embarrassment by heading home Rodriguez’s inswinging free-kick but there was no stopping Rodriguez, fouled for the free-kick which led to Mina’s goal, and he made the game safe with two far-post finishes from crosses by Alex Iwobi and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Yves Bissouma volleyed home an added-time consolation, after a third defeat in a week for the Seagulls.

Click here to see how Albion fans reacted to the painful loss"Brighton played well. We played well also," Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti said. "We managed the situation of the game well. We had composure defensively and had opportunities on the counter attack. The performance was complete and this was the reason we deserved to win."

On James Rodriguez, he added: "As I said on the first day, the players with quality have not a problem with that (settling in). The quality is there because football is not so complicated. The pitch is always the same, the opponents are always 11, the ball is the same, the goal doesn't move. Football is simple. It is not complicated."

Ancelotti also had special praise for Calvert-Lewin. "There is not just one reason. He is confident, we are seeing him improving and he is scoring goals and that is the most important motivation for a striker. This is the moment of Dominic Calvert-Lewin now.

"We are optimistic now for 15 days because there is a break but then we will have a fantastic test, the most difficult test against our neighbours."