James Milner became the Premier League's all-time record appearance holder in a brilliant 2-0 Brighton win at high-flying Brentford, easing the pressure on boss Fabian Hurzeler.
First-half goals from Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck ended the Seagulls' six-game winless run and crowned Milner's record-breaking 654th top-flight appearance in a victory that dented Brentford's European hopes.
The Bees' remain seventh, but open the door for eighth-placed Everton to leapfrog them into a Conference League place, while Brighton rise two places to 12th in the table.
A reinvigorated Seagulls side were on top from the off. Caoimhin Kelleher almost spilled a speculative Jack Hinshelwood effort into his own net, before the Irishman had to save the Bees blushes just two minutes later with a smart save from a close-range Kaoru Mitoma effort.
Brentford, though, almost took the lead against the run of play when Thiago latched onto an over the top pass only to blaze over Bart Verbruggen's net, and the home side were made to pay when Gomez converted the rebound from Ferdi Kadioglu's beautiful curling effort to give the away side the lead after half an hour.
Brighton continued to control proceedings, but were gifted their second when first-half sub Nathan Collins mis-kicked a tame Pascal Gross cross into the direction of Welbeck, who poked home with aplomb from point-blank range.
Brentford's chances were few and far between in the second period - a late own goal scare from Joel Veltman was the only blip in a fantastic defensive performance from centre-back tandem Jan Paul van Hecke and Lewis Dunk that guided Brighton to their first away win since November, and just their second in the league in 2026.
Premier League all-time record appearance holder James Milner:
"It will be nice to stop talking about it - especially when it was so important to get the win today.
"I just always want to play a part in the team improving, getting better and winning games.
"To pass the mark is a big number. It is not something I've concentrated on. There has been a lot of talk around it but anyone who knows me knows it is all about the team.
"It is a good opportunity to give a nod to everyone that has helped me, the sacrifices they've made for me.
"The family, friends and people that have worked with me, sports physios and people like that.
"I have been fortunate to get there and work with a lot of good clubs and people. Just so happy to get the win today."
James Milner made his Premier League debut on the November 10, 2002. Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga was born the same day. Jude Bellingham didn't exist. His manager, Fabian Hurzeler, was nine years old.
653 games later, he holds the record for most Premier League all-time appearances.
Milner's record - spanning 23 seasons and six different clubs - isn't just a sign of his incredible fitness and longevity at the age of 40. It's a testament to his undeniable quality as a footballer.
He is a three-time Premier League champion and a Champions League winner. His performance on his record-breaking day summed up how he has gotten to this point.
Milner played with characteristic poise and maturity, marshalling the midfield and instructing his team-mates all the way through a first win in six for Brighton in his first start in eight games. Coincidence? His manager doesn't think so.
"It's difficult to sum him up with one sentence," Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said.
"I think he's a great leader on the pitch, a great communicator, he understands the game quite well and on top of that he's still super fit.
"I don't know what he's doing to get this fitness. Every week and every training session he runs the most, he sprints the most and therefore it's not a surprise for me that he's capable of doing these kind of performance.
"But I think the main thing is really being a great leader, being there to manage the key moments and being there as a communicator, and that's what he did today."
He is synonymous with everything you would expect from someone to break a record which looked so unbreakable. The hard work, leadership, and level-headedness that made Milner are continuing to show he can be just as useful a player at 40 as he was when he burst onto the scene at 16, 654 appearances ago.
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews:
"First half, we didn't hit the levels that we've been doing pretty consistently. We didn't play with the same level of intensity that we have been doing really, really well. We certainly gave them a bit of a leg up in the first half.
"We're clearly disappointed; that's where the game was lost in the first half."
[On half-time changes]: "In the last 10 games we've been the best team in the league and that's a really high bar. In the first half, we didn't replicate what's produced those levels of performances and fully deserved results.
"We have a squad of really good players and I feel like some players aren't particularly performing to their levels, so you try and change the dynamics within it to see if you can you get a reaction.
"It's not particularly down to the two players that came off, it obviously could have been different players but they were the ones that felt right."
