Brighton captain's verdict on Dominic Calvert-Lewin 'elbow' in physical Leeds United battle

Brighton captain Lewis Dunk enjoyed the physical battle with Leeds United’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin on Saturday - even if his defensive teammate caught an early elbow.

Calvert-Lewin wasted no time getting stuck into the Brighton defenders during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium. The Leeds frontman committed the game’s first foul inside three minutes, catching Luka Vuskovic with a flailing elbow as the pair challenged for an aerial ball.

He was a constant handful for the Brighton defence and almost opened the scoring after rounding goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, only for Dunk to slide in and clear off the line. Calvert-Lewin’s physical approach earned him a yellow card in the second-half, this time after catching Yasin Ayari.

"It's a good battle out there I'm glad Luka got the elbow, not me," Dunk joked to Sussex World after the match. "You know what you're coming up against when you're coming up against Calvert-Lewin.

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"He's physical, his timing of his jumps is incredible. He's always looking to hurt you in behind. I thought we dealt with him well today."

Calvert-Lewin’s aerial presence played a part in Bogle’s opener during the first half, albeit he would have been disappointed with his role. The striker was well-placed to head home a looped Nico Elvedi cross but saw his effort saved by Verbruggen.

But the goalkeeper’s parry could only find Ao Tanaka, whose skewed shot was going wide but for Bogle who snuck in at the back post to score. It was a scrappy goal but no one in the away end cared, as it was their first at the Amex since 2012.

Vuskovic recovered from his elbow to score Brighton’s leveller halfway through the second period, losing Gabriel Gudmundsson from a corner to head in at the back post. The Seagulls applied pressure but couldn’t find a winner, with Leeds also forging chances, most notably through substitute Lukas Nmecha.