Graham Potter is willing to agree Albion got a bit lucky at home to Everton.

A penalty awarded to the home side when they were 2-1 down has widely been seen as one of the more questionable decisions made by VAR this season.

But that is as far as the head coach will go in agreeing with a suggestion his team have been fortunate.

A study by ESPN has decided Albion would be 19th in the table had they not enjoyed so much good luck.

Those who have seen the Seagulls’ 21 matches so far might disagree.

The commonly held view in this part of the country is that Albion deserve more points than they have.

ESPN suggest they should, in fact, be on 17 rather than the current 24.

That 3-2 success over Everton was seen as a key result for Albion.

Not because they played well, as had been the case in the previous home fixture against Tottenham.

(Does Hugo Lloris’s gift count as good luck, by the way?).

But rather because they got a win they might not have.

A week on from losing in the fourth added minute at Aston Villa having largely played well, they experienced the other side of those emotions.

That made it all the more special, thinking back to that bitter disappointment at full-time versus Villa.

It was really tough to take for Everton – and their boss Marco Silva.

One of the sticks or stats used to beat the Portuguese boss was that his side never won after going behind.

They will feel they should have done exactly that at the Amex that day.

Asked whether Albion had a bit of luck that afternoon, Potter said: “Yes, I would say so.

“I think we were definitely fortunate in that game.

“VAR was a crucial factor in us turning the game around, which is part of football.

“It can happen sometimes. You get a bad refereeing decision or a bad linesman’s call or something like that.

“I said after the game that I didn’t think Everton deserved to lose and that’s still the case now.

“It can happen. When the environment turns, that second goal lifted our crowd and gave us the possibility because up to that point we were struggling a little bit.”

So far so good? Albion will certainly accept a bit of luck as they chase a first ever win at Goodison.

Something good to, perhaps, counter-balance the misfortune they had across Stanley Park when a poor decision led to the free-kick which gave Liverpool their opening goal in a 2-1 win.

ESPN did not specify why they felt Albion have been lucky in other matches.

But it might just tee up the chance to dispel one of the myths of this season so far – that have benefited from VAR.

Potter was certainly in the mood to do that as he was told about the ESPN study.

Even a hugely experienced presenter such as Jim Rosenthal, working the Boxing Day game for Amazon Prime, was sucked into looking at the numbers and saying Albion had been lucky this season with VAR.

Maybe. Or maybe the video ref system has ensured they have avoided what might have been a handful of injustices.

Those include the offside goal by David Luiz at Arsenal which originally stood, similarly with Harry Kane at Tottenham.

There were also two Sheffield United goals disallowed at the Amex, though they did not affect the final outcome as the Blades won anyway.

There are decisions among that lot you would really like to think would have made by the officials at the stadium had VAR not been available.

Others were tighter to call – but called correctly from Stockley Park.

Albion were well beaten at Old Trafford but were they unlucky to see the opening goal go in via a huge deflection off Dale Stephens?

And were they not harshly treated by a second goal which might have been wiped out for handball by Harry Maguire?

Was there not misfortune in the way the ball landed for Harry Kane to score and turn the game at Tottenham on Boxing Day?

Potter said: “It depends how you define lucky. If they are talking about VAR decisions, are they lucky or are they just correct decisions? Then it’s not luck.

“If you are talking about VAR, we have been on the receiving end of some right decisions which you can say is lucky because, without VAR, they would have been given.

“I would also argue they were pretty straightforward decisions as well.

“Whether that is luck or just using VAR because you know will make the correct decision.”

The ESPN Luck Index reckons Arsenal have been denied nine points, which would have put them fifth in the table, while Watford deserve to be up in ninth.

But Liverpool are still 13 points clear at the top of the table and Norwich are still bottom.