Mats Wieffer’s double reflected Brighton’s season, making the perfect late runs to secure the points at Championship-bound Burnley. It was their fifth win in six matches to leave them two points behind sixth-placed Chelsea.

Scott Parker was left frustrated after Jaidon Anthony and Bashir Humphreys scored but lengthy video assistant referee delays offered hope and the technology had to work hard to spot the illegalities. Ultimately, Wieffer settled the match, tripling his tally for the club, to boost Brighton’s European hopes, while leaving Burnley 12 points from safety with six games to play.

“We want to achieve something, we want to make the next step as a team, as a club and we have big confidence that we can do it,” Fabian Hürzeler said. “The most important thing we need to understand that we need to earn the right to compete with the top teams and earning the right means staying humble, working hard every day and then bringing the consistency into the performances, because that’s something that we definitely lack this season.”

Without a home win in six months, it was understandable that there were plenty of gaps in the stands. The downpours and increased cost of travel meant it was sensible to stay away, but those who did missed a positive start from Burnley, with Anthony finding the back of the net on the turn, only to be the first victim of a fluorescent flag blowing in the wind. The winger almost legitimately scored soon after from a well-worked corner, but his clever flick at the front post was blocked.

Brighton were the more comfortable of the teams, left unperturbed after surviving two dangerous situations and without the suspended Hürzeler on the touchline. Their early forward offering came from attacks down the left as they aimed to take advantage of Humphreys being moved to right-back, but Danny Welbeck and Yakuba Minteh fluffed finishes when in the perfect position to score, while pinball in the box ended with a Burnley goal-kick.

Inevitably, Brighton’s opener came down the left. They were the sharper of the two sides and it was not difficult to cut open the team with the worst defensive record in the league. Pascal Gross ran into space on the wing and had time to pick out the unmarked Wieffer in the middle, who swept into the corner for his first goal of the season. The away end was euphoric, while the home supporters immediately sought refuge on the concourses.

Early promise from Burnley had completely dissipated by the break and they were lucky not to be two down. Another cross from the left caused problems in the area, but neither Welbeck nor Jack Hinshelwood could prod home from close range. When the half-time whistle did come, it was greeted with plenty of boos, aimed at Parker.

Humphreys thought he had put his defensive difficulties to one side when he thrashed the ball into the roof of the net after Bart Verbruggen had palmed a James Ward-Prowse free-kick straight to him. Assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis spotted the right-back’s kneecap was offside and VAR backed him up.

When Burnley are in the Championship next season, they will not miss the use of technology. “We are getting close [to admitting defeat], the games are running out,” Parker said.

The opening quarter-hour of the second half was dominated by Burnley, but they rarely gave the impression of scoring legally. Zian Flemming forced Verbruggen into two smart saves but the goalkeeper was left relatively untroubled as Burnley fired a blank for the 12th time this season, offering a strong indication to why they are going down.

Brighton were not clinical when they had chances to kill off the match and had to rely on their full-back again. Wieffer was again in the right position to finish, popping up on the edge of the area in the 89th minute and finding the corner to instigate a mass exodus, as only a quarter of attenders stayed for the final whistle.