RODRIGO MUNIZ clawed one back SIX-MINUTES into injury time to send Marco Silva and co bananas.
The Fulham boss had been in a right huff as Brighton looked as though they had got the better of them with Matt O’Riley’s ice-cool 59th minute penalty.
But late drama saw Fulham win a corner and Muniz lash in Harry Wilson’s corner from close range.
It sparked mayhem in the Cottagers dugout as Marco Silva celebrated wildly in front of the fourth official who he had been butting heads with all game.
This was the battle of the Premier League’s most likely managers to be on the cover of GQ Magazine with stylish Silva up against whipper snapper Fabian Hurzeler.
For the fans they both share the dream of dusting off their passports for another European tour, with both sides just missing out last term and this game showing it could once again be closer than ever.
Brighton had the most recent taste of European football after reaching the last 16 of the Europa League under Roberto De Zerbi in the 2022-23 season, while Fulham’s last run came all the way back in 2011.
On three minutes, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh had lashed the ball in the back of the net, but it was disallowed as the ball had actually gone out of play before Carlos Baleba’s cut back.
A quick VAR check was all that was needed to confirm a no goal.
It took five minutes for fiery Portuguese boss Marco Silva to lose his rag as Minteh caught Fulham youngster Josh King, 18, with some studs but not even a free-kick was given.
King stayed down for a few seconds before coming back to life and shortly after nearly won a penalty up the other end.
Fulham were shouting for a penalty as King cut inside Jan Paul van Hecke and Bart Verbruggen before going down in the six-yard box, the referee waved it away and VAR concurred.
The excitement fizzled out though with chances few and far in between other than a tame header from Mats Wieffer off Maxim de Cuyper’s free-kick being steered straight to the palms of Bernd Leno.
It didn’t take long for drama to erupt in the second-half as referee Sam Barrott didn’t hesitate as he pointed to the spot to award Brighton a penalty.
Georginio Rutter had raced into the box before he was brought down amid a tangle of legs with Sander Berge.
Fans were left sweating over who would take Brighton’s penalties after they sold spot-kick Joao Pedro to Chelsea in the summer.
A whopping 15 of the Brazilian striker’s 30 goals for Brighton came from the spot but boss Hurzler insisted he had a plan of action for penas.
And Hounslow-born O’Riley picked up where Pedro left off, slamming a no-nonsense penalty into the bottom corner.
Things were still cagey though and Kaoru Mitoma was booked for catching Harry Wilson’s ankle after initially winning the ball with his sliding tackle.
Leno was nearly the culprit of a clanger when he scrambled with a low drive from Diego Gomez but was very lucky when he caught it again before it spilled over the line.
There was a late flurry of chances for the hosts before the Muniz drama at the death.
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