Brighton cemented their position at the top of the Championship as Ashley Barnes’ late goal sealed a 1-0 win at Bristol City yesterday.

Barnes’ winner means Gus Poyet’s side have taken 16 points from their first six matches in English football’s second tier following last season’s promotion from League One.

The Seagulls are one point clear of local rivals Southampton, who beat Nottingham Forest 3-2, while third-placed Middlesbrough are a further point behind following their 2-0 win at Burnley.

Brighton had been frustrated for 80 minutes by City’s former England goalkeeper David James.

The 41-year-old had pulled off a stunning double save to deny Craig Mackail-Smith in the second half.

But unbeaten Brighton kept plugging away and were finally rewarded when Barnes tucked in his fifth goal of the campaign to secure a fifth win in six games.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.