Brighton eased any fears of relegation with a convincing 2-0 win over Leeds that took them 10 points clear of Fulham in the drop zone
With only two wins from their past 20 home Premier League matches, Brighton needed a fast start to settle the nerves and got it when Welbeck was fouled inside the area by Ezgjan Alioski
 The penalty was coolly converted by Gross
Leeds, without Kalvin Phillips to injury, lacked the attacking spark to seriously trouble the hosts and Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay both wasted huge opportunities to take the game away from Marcelo Bielsa's men
Brighton's failure to convert those chances didn't cost them though as Welbeck popped up with the second goal, skilfully making a chance for himself before firing into the bottom corner
Leeds kicked off unbeaten in their last six Premier League games, a run which included Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea
They should have been full of confidence against the flaky Seagulls but stepped off their opponents, allowing them to work their clever passing moves through midfield
 Trossard had already tested Illan Meslier twice before Brighton did take the lead from the spot
Alioski clumsily upended Welbeck in the area and Gross confidently found the bottom left corner with the resultant spot-kick, despite Meslier going the right way
Leeds improved with the ball but struggled with their final pass against a watertight Brighton back five, led imperiously by Lewis Dunk
Brighton should have made it 2-0 before the break
Diego Llorente was dispossessed by Welbeck and, after the ball was worked back across the area, Belgium forward Trossard somehow blazed high and wide with the goal gaping
With Brighton having dropped 20 points from winning positions this term, head coach Graham Potter would have been concerned to see more chances come and go
Welbeck flashed a low shot across goal just before the whistle, while Joel Veltman rifled over immediately after the restart
 There was no response from Leeds though
 Robert Sanchez had little to do with his defence snuffing out most of the danger
Chances continued to be concentrated at the other end of the field
White headed onto the roof of the net against his former side, while unmarked Maupay scuffed wide after being expertly teed up by Trossard
The killer goal did eventually come
Pascal Struijk hoisted a clearance into the air and, as he went to close down the loose ball, Welbeck expertly whipped it away from him with a deft touch before smashing low across goal into the far corner
 The celebrations suggested Brighton knew this was a big result
An impeccable chest pass back to his goalkeeper Robert Sanchez on 74 minutes triggered a thought: why isn't Gareth Southgate watching Lewis Dunk?Conor Coady seems to be the likely back-up for John Stones and Harry Maguire at the Euros due to his ability to play at the heart of a back three
 But Dunk is equally, if not more, effective at such role judged on his performances in the second half of this season
 He is the leader in the best defence of sides in the bottom nine, conceding 39 goals and has kept six clean sheets in their last eight home games
He was absolutely faultless in this encounter, marking Patrick Bamford out of the game, who failed to have a shot at goal, and repelling everything Leeds mustered in his direction
 When you consider the lack of options in the centre of England's defence, how he only has one cap for his country is a mystery
His manager, Potter, was beaming with his captain, he said: "His performance was sensational
 I haven't seen him play as well as that
 He's been so consistent at a high level
 How he leads the line, he was amazing today
": "A really good performance that ends in a result
 Important to get the second goal
 Lots of times this season we've been 1-0 up and not been able to kill the game
 A great team performance
"Having looked at the table, we still need more points
 We will keep fighting
"Danny Welbeck has that quality
 He has scored some good goals for us
 He has contributed to what we have done on the pitch
 He is a Premier League player and he has fantastic attributes as a player and a person
"It was one of our best performances
 You have to match Leeds for their effort and honesty and I felt we did that really well
": "In the middle sector of the pitch we were trying to find variety to get in behind them
"There were very few [chances], that's true
 It wasn't because [Patrick Bamford] was isolated
 It was because the ball couldn't reach the final third
"I pay more attention to the construction of our offensive game
"I think the performance of Robin Koch was positive
 I don't link the defeat to the absence of Phillips
"Brighton have an eight-day break now with their next fixture coming against Wolves next Sunday (12pm kick-off)
 Meanwhile, Leeds host Tottenham in the early Saturday game next weekend (12
30pm kick-off)
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