It had to be Rodrigo Muniz. The Brazilian striker, who has reportedly told Fulham he wants to play Champions’ League football for Atalanta, came off the bench to burgle a point for Marco Silva’s side in stoppage time at the AMEX Stadium – just when it looked as if Brighton and Hove Albion had done enough to earn an opening day win. Albion’s goal came courtesy of a second half penalty, conceded by Sander Berge’s silly challenge, and coolly converted by the Seagulls’ former Fulham midfielder Matt O’Riley.

Albion looked the sharper of the two sides – with Fabian Hürzeler’s side reinforced by smart signings after a first year in the Premier League that saw the 32 year-old narrowly miss out on European qualification. Brighton drove a hard bargain with Manchester United for Carlos Baleba, who added the bite in the home side’s midfield, and was sorely missed when he was taken off midway through the second half. The Seagulls thought they had taken the lead early on when Yankuba Minteh shot past Bernd Leno but Baleba had taken the ball beyond the byline.

Silva’s summer has been much more frustrating, something he vocalised in his pre-match press conference by criticising the slowness of Fulham’s recruitment. Director of football Tony Khan watched from the stands as the visitors, in their green throwback away strip, carried as little threat as Paul Bracewell’s side from 25 years ago. Their most potent threat was the eighteen year-old attacking midfielder Josh King, who wriggled away from robust Brighton challenges, to almost set up Raul Jimenez and have strong penalty claims waved away when he appeared to have been taken out by Bert Verbruggen at the end of a brilliant run.

Clear changes were few and far between as a fixture short on quality saw Fulham fight to keep Brighton’s attacking talent quiet. Calvin Bassey toiled manfully at left back in the absence of Ryan Sessegnon and Antonee Robinson, but Jorge Cuenca and Joachim Andersen were largely untroubled until the intelligent O’Riley, whose promise was ignored at Motspur Park by Scott Parker, lofted a lovely ball to the back post where Karou Mitoma, on one of the rare moments he escaped Kenny Tete, headed onto the roof of the net.

Georgino Rutter barely tested Leno with a daisycutter from distance and half time came at the right time for Fulham, who regrouped during the interval, and re-emerged with more verve. King provided the thrust with a clever run that culminated in a shot that almost escaped Verbruggen’s grasp for Jimenez to score, with the underworked Brighton defence breathing a sigh of relief. Just when Silva’s side seemed likely to make the running they fell behind.

Rutter skated into oceans of space and was sent tumbling to the floor by Berge’s rush of blood to the head. Fulham’s protests were futile and O’Riley, who scored an unfortunate own goal at Craven Cottage last season, stroked the spot-kick sweetly past Bernd Leno’s right arm. There was some irony that the 1,000th Premier League Fulham had conceded was scored by a talent honed at Motspur Park. Brighton should then have secured all three points. Minteh ballooned over from close range after a brilliant break from Mitoma had the Cottagers’ defence at sixes and sevens before Leno almost made a mess of a low shot from Seagulls substitute Diego Gomez.

Silva caused disquiet in the away end when he replaced King with last summer’s club record-signing Emile Smith Rowe. The England international has had a slow start in SW6 but he came closer than anybody else in green when his deflected shot whistled fractionally wide of the post. It looked as if Tete, terrific at right back all afternoon, had wasted the Londoners’ last chance when he skied a volley from ten yards out, but Brighton failed to clear a corner from Harry Wilson and Muniz pounced, firing into the bottom corner at the far post, sparking delirious scenes amongst the 3,000 Fulham fans in the South stand.

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Wieffer, De Cuyper, Dunk, van Hecke; Baleba (Gomez 69), Ayari; Minteh (Kadioglu 69), Mitoma (Gruda 83), O’Riley (Milner 88); Rutter (Welbeck 69). Subs (not used): Steele, Coppola, Veltman, Boscagli, Gruda.

BOOKED: Mitoma, Kadioglu, Gomez.

GOAL: O’Riley (pen 55)

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Bassey, Andersen, Cuenca (Castagne 84); Lukic, Berge (Cairney 66); Wilson, Iwobi (Traore 66), King (Smith Rowe 77); Jimenez (Muniz 66). Subs (not used): Lecomte, Diop, Reed, Pereira.

BOOKED: Bassey, Cairney, Muniz.

GOAL: Muniz (90+6).

REFEREE: Sam Barrot (West Yorkshire).

ATTENDANCE: 31,584