The first half conjured up plenty of chances at either end, with both goalkeepers called into action early on.
Lewis Dunk reacted quickest to a corner, only for Caoimhín Kelleher to get behind his effort. Mathias Jensen then tested Bart Verbruggen from range, before Keane Lewis-Potter, who scored against Arsenal in Brentford’s last home game, saw his free-kick caught by the Dutchman.
Those missed opportunities seemed to spur Brighton on, as they dominated the rest of the half. Kelleher did well to parry away shots from Jack Hinshelwood and Kaoru Mitoma, before James Milner, making his record 654th PL appearance, struck just wide with a half-volley.
The Seagulls eventually found the breakthrough on the half-hour mark, as Ferdi Kadıoğlu’s wonderful effort came off the crossbar and into Diego Gómez’s path, and the Paraguayan calmly volleyed the rebound into the net.
Nathan Collins, who came on for the injured Aaron Hickey late in the half, then made a terrible error that allowed Danny Welbeck to double Brighton’s lead before half time.
Brentford had chances to reduce the deficit, though Vitaly Janelt struck over twice and Sepp van den Berg also headed off target from a corner, but their best opportunity fell to top scorer Igor Thiago, who uncharacteristically shot off target when through on goal.
The Bees kept pushing in the second half, with Collins keen to atone for his mistake for Brighton’s second goal, but his header flew inches wide of the post.
Pascal Groß then had a chance to put the game to bed shortly after, but Kelleher stopped his strike from range.
As the minutes ticked by, Brentford got more desperate, and a set-piece almost got them back in it when Thiago headed a free-kick towards Dango Ouattara, but he could only direct his acrobatic effort over.
In the end, Brentford slumped to a defeat that deals a blow to their European hopes, and they will now be slightly concerned about their home form having won just once in their last five outings there (D2, L2), while Brighton silence potential relegation fears with their first PL away win since November.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Danny Welbeck (Brighton & Hove Albion)