Wieffer netted at the end of either half to help the Seagulls keep pace with those above them in the European hunt, while pushing Burnley closer to relegation.

Danny Welbeck missed an early chance to put Brighton ahead when he scuffed his effort into Martin Dubravka's hands after being found by Yankuba Minteh at the back post.

Burnley had the ball in the back of the net less than a minute later through Jaidon Anthony, but his pinpoint finish into the bottom-right corner was ruled out for an offside against him after he was picked out by Lesley Ugochukwu's clever pass.

But Brighton made its dominance count in the 43rd minute as Pascal Gross's cross was thundered in first time by Wieffer, for his first Premier League goal of the season.

Scott Parker's side improved after the break, and was once again denied by the offside flag, this time when Bashir Humphreys' shot from close range was ruled out after James Ward-Prowse's dangerous free-kick was parried into his path.

The hosts continued to push for an equaliser as Zian Flemming was twice denied by Bart Verbruggen, but their wastefulness was punished when Wieffer's 89th-minute attempt from the edge of the box whistled into the bottom-left corner.

Wieffer was as surprised as anyone after scoring his crucial brace. 

"I'm really happy, of course. A brace. I've never scored a brace in my life, to do it now and also the 2-0 win, that's the most important bit," Wieffer said.

"It was a tough afternoon. We were not at our best, but at this stage of the season, points are the most important.

"We are on a good run, we feel good, we play well. In the end, if you win 2-0, nothing to complain about.

"I'm really happy, that's the only thing I can say. We focus a lot on getting the full-backs and loads of people in the box. I joined the attack and Pascal [Gross] saw me.

"The second one, I just followed the ball, and it dropped onto my foot. It went into the net, and I'm really happy."

Defeat edges Burnley closer to an immediate return to the second tier, with the Clarets now 12 points adrift of safety.

Parker could only rue the two offside goals went against his Burnley side.

"I think that's how you see football really now. There's a perfection to the game. People will always fall back and reference well it's the correct decision," the Clarets manager said.

"If that's what it is, that's what it is. I get we're in a world where everyone wants perfection in every walk of life, and football is certainly turning out that way.

"But from my side when I look back on it, from a still, it doesn't actually look like offside. Now, of course, I get that you can reference that obviously it was from the angle. But that's ultimately the way it is. We're ultimately falling back on technology, or AI, or some gadget that will prove a human being wrong in that sense.

"That's the way it is. That's disappointing. That's the way it's going. I see a team fully committed. We can be critical of this team in certain moments because of the lack of quality or lack of clinical moments. But I didn't see a team you can be critical of in terms of effort. "