Talking Points: Burnley 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 1

Lewis Dunk put the visitors in front when his header from a Pascal Groß corner found room between Johann Berg Gudmundsson and the post in the 36th minute.

The Clarets hit back after the break when Gudmundsson atoned for his earlier error with a low finish past Spanish goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

Sean Dyche's side pushed for a winner, with the best chance falling at the feet of Matej Vydra, but Sanchez's save ensured the spoils were shared.

Here are the talking points.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

Almost three years had elapsed since the Clarets had been able to fashion 20+ attempts on goal in a top flight fixture at Turf Moor.

Everton were the victims on that occasion in March 2018 when the home side - who had Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood to thank for the three points - laid siege on Jordan Pickford's goal.

Hitting that marker again, against a ship-shape Brighton defence, was unexpected, considering Graham Potter's side had limited both Spurs and Liverpool to less than that over the two games.

And the Seagulls' miserly record at the back seemed certain to cancel out Burnley's floundering frontline, with just three shots on goal record over 180-plus minutes against Chelsea and Manchester City.

However, the form book in that respect was tossed well and truly out of the window as the hosts crafted chance after chance in a far more fluid display, particularly in the second half.

Brighton's Spanish stopper got down well to turn Dwight McNeil's ingenious set-piece around the post and then kept out James Tarkowski from close range before Dunk's breakthrough.

Jack Cork missed the opportunity to draw the hosts level when steering the ball over the bar from a promising position inside the box and then Sanchez intervened again on the stroke of half-time with a strong one-handed save from the home side's England Under 21 international.

But it was the second half where the hosts really came to life. Burnley were much smoother in transition, both in and out of possession, even when the visitors changed tact when switching to a back four.

That fluency opened up passing lanes, the stream from back to front was free-flowing, providing more options off the ball, and the visitors fell deeper as a result.

They continued to ask questions of the away side, but were unable to add to Gudmundsson's equaliser in the end.

"I was pleased with the performance both with and without the ball," said Dyche. "Popey didn't have a lot to do today, which is always pleasing.

"I speak to the players a lot about framework and freedom and the defensive element of the performance was pleasing in the second half.

"The framework helps you try to defend well in the Premier League and the freedom allows you to go and play from that shape.

"I thought we did that very well and we mixed our play. In transition we've pressed hard and made sure our distances were right defensively."

It wasn't, however, just about the number of chances. Dyche was pleased to see that his side had quality as well as quantity.

"It's not always about the number of chances that you create, it's the quality of them," he said.

"We had both today (quality and quantity). On another day I don't think there would have been too many people disgruntled if it was two or three to us with the amount of quality we had going forward.

"We had 20 shots today with seven on target, but they were quality chances, and I thought we asked so many questions of them in the second half."

THE ICEMAN

Dyche was cooing at some of the individual brilliance on show against the Seagulls, but Matt Lowton, Matej Vydra and Gudmundsson were arguably the pick of the pack.

Burnley look a completely different proposition with a few extra ball-carriers in their side and, when turning it on, there aren't many better at the club than the Icelandic international.

The 30-year-old stuck out like a sore thumb when playing in a free role behind Igor Vetokele as the Clarets clinched the Championship title against Charlton Athletic at The Valley in 2016.

His ability to drive his team forward, attack the space, beat a man and land the ball on a target was clearly the motivator for his move that summer.

Gudmundsson's numbers weren't anything out of the ordinary in his first season at Burnley, but we got to see what he was all about during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns.

A total of 22 goal contributions at the highest level gives you an understanding of his capabilities, but his productivity in other facets of the game also shone through.

The former AZ Alkmaar man attempted almost 300 dribbles over the two seasons adding 237 crosses and 1,855 passes with well over a 70 per cent accuracy.

A spate of injuries have caused disruption, inflicting both physical and psychological scars, but we're seeing signs that the winger could be rediscovering that early form.

And, if that proves to be the case, then the option to extend his contract until the summer of 2023, could be a shrewd bit of business.

Dyche said: "I said to him [against Manchester City], when there was a little break in the game and he came over to get some water, that he's looking way more fluid and he's looking like he can run way more freely.

"I think that's what we were searching for. It's almost like going back to being a kid when you just go out and play football. You don't think about your body because it's just automaticity, your body goes where you want it to go.

"I think when you've been injured, particularly niggly injuries, they're worse and they get in your mind a little bit. We were just trying to get him to run clearly and freely all the time.

"That's really pleasing and that can only bring that mental open-mindedness. I'm pleased for him and I'm pleased for us."

Gudmundsson's 53rd minute finish, his first goal since August 2019, ended a run of 458 minutes without a goal conceded for Brighton in the Premier League.

He showed great composure to finish after Sanchez had beaten away an Erik Pieters strike. The goals, and assists, will hopefully continue to come.

But we're already seeing his influence on the side. His running, in a burgeoning partnership with Lowton, coupled with Vydra's mobility across the front, has and will bring more freedom for others.

Burnley had been over-reliant on their left hand side, repetitively seeking out the likes of Charlie Taylor and Dwight McNeil for their inventiveness.

If that outlet was suppressed, however, then the Clarets struggled to get the ball into their front two. Now the opposition has a bit more to think about.

The proof was in the pudding against Aston Villa. The hosts were trailing 2-1, but the introduction of Gudmundsson and Vydra gave them a new lease of life.

McNeil was afforded a bit more time on the ball and, within four minutes of Burnley's third change, he'd added a goal and an assist.

"I'm pleased with Johann, he's getting back to that 'Premier League' fitness," added Dyche.

"His sharpness is coming, his awareness, his understanding, which is good anyway, but it all comes from having that true fitness, which comes from playing games, and I think he's getting there now.

"I thought he was outstanding in the second half and he gets his goal. We had a lot of conviction in our play and Johann's was a version of that. He made sure it stays low, he hits it clean and he scores the goal."

The key now is to keep Gudmundsson fit and firing!

LAPSES IN DEFENCE

It's not often we're having to address the defensive side of Burnley's game.

A return of 22 clean sheets in little more than a season-and-a-half speaks volumes of their resilience and discipline.

But rare moments of lagging in their functionality are being punished and they're proving costly.

Goals conceded against Leeds United at Elland Road and West Ham United at the London Stadium are the ones that stand out since Christmas.

The tiniest of details are leading to the most severe consequences where football is concerned.

James Tarkowski had eyes on his man when Groß was lining up to take the corner.

The centre back didn't stick with him, though. Instead, he turned his attentions to Adam Webster, who was already well marshaled.

That left Dunk, Brighton's biggest aerial threat from set-pieces, unmarked inside the box and the skipper capitalised.

The defender's header somehow found a way past Gudmundsson, who inexplicably took a side-step from the upright.

And all of a sudden, from nothing, you find yourself chasing the game against opposition that had kept four clean sheets on the bounce.

"It's a great ball in, we didn't deal with the first contact or second, but that can happen," said Dyche. "They were a threat because they're very strong and we were aware of that.

"He [Gudmundsson] just drifts off the post slightly and it goes past him. The big moments didn't quite go our way today but I'm very pleased overall."

In the end the Clarets were able to do what they couldn't in the aforementioned defeats.

Gudmundsson made amends and ensured the two sides shared the spoils for an eighth time in the last 11 meetings.