'I’m a big fan' - Burnley boss Kompany praises Brighton wingers after draw at Amex

Burnley took the lead through Wilson Odobert with a stunning strike before Simon Adingra headed in the equaliser with 13 minutes remaining. “I thought the first half was outstanding,” Kompany said. “We had to be patient for the moments where we recovered the ball, but then I thought in those moments we were dangerous.

“We lost out in the second half, and then it became more difficult to recover the ball and it became more about our defending.”

The result could have been different if it were not for James Trafford, with the England U21 Euro Championship winner making 10 saves, including holding out through a flurry of shots and attacks from the hosts at the end of the game. His manager praised him after, saying: “You don’t come to places like this and get a result like moments like this. He just needs to keep working on becoming the best he can be, we are very fortunate to have two very good goalkeepers.”

Kompany has praised Brighton but focused his praise on the winger duo of Mitoma and Adingra. Adingra scored the equaliser with a header and Mitoma came off the bench at the start of the second half and gave the Burnley defenders a headache with his pace and direct dribbling.

SEE ALSO Brighton 1-1 Burnley Analysis: Did benching Mitoma impact the result? | Brighton star makes 'difficult' admission after Albion held by Burnley

The Burnley manager said: “They’ve got an outstanding team and players – it is difficult to leave Mitoma 1-on-1 and [Adingra] trust me I’m a big fan. They’ve got so many players where it's very difficult to leave yourself where we are now exposed against them.”

The former Manchester City captain has admitted that his team cannot compete at this level but believes that the club is going in the right direction. Kompany said: “We are not at a level yet where we can compete every week with teams like Brighton on an equal level.

“There is a tremendous belief in me that the club is going in the right direction, but our biggest unique strength is that it is an elite club in terms of the attitude, the standards, I would put us against anybody.”

Kompany has labelled his team as ‘underdogs’ after the Brighton result, having to play more direct as a result of how Brighton play. He said: “At this level, we don’t always decide what to do, the opposition team is able to always impose their will.”