Danny Welbeck v Leeds wins WAB Brighton Goal of the Season 2020-21
Was there any ever doubt? Danny Welbeck is the winner of our WAB Brighton Goal of the Season 2020-21 award for his stunning strike which rounded off a shock 2-0 win for the Albion over 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up The Leeds United at the Amex.
No other player in Graham Potter’s Brighton squad could have conjured up such a moment of magic as Dat Guy. It secured 56.82 percent of the vote and means that Welbeck can now mention on his CV that he is a WAB Goal of the Season winner alongside the likes of Gary Dicker, Jake Forster-Caskey, Rohan Ince and Jiri Skalak.
Brighton were leading The Leeds United 1-0 when, in the 79th minute, a ball began dropping out of the sky in the Peacocks box. Welbeck was underneath it but he had his back to goal, so there seemed little he could do other than try and get it under control and lay it off to a midfielder.
Or so we thought. Just before the ball hit the ground, Danny Welbeck produced an utterly outrageous Cruyff Turn Gross Turn which left two Leeds defenders looking completely bamboozled before striking an unstoppable left footed effort across Illan Meslier to ensure three points for Brighton.
More than a few eyebrows were raised when the Albion offered Welbeck a one-year deal following his release from Watford in October. Dat Guy has more than justified the faith put in him though, his six goals from open play being more than any other Brighton player managed.
A new contract is on the table but his form in 2020-21 – including that Leeds goal – means that Welbeck is an in-demand man. We wait and see whether he opts to stay at the Albion for another year.
Funnily enough, second place also went to a goal scored against The Leeds United. Rather than being a piece of individual brilliance like Welbeck at the Amex, it was a stunning team effort at Elland Road which swept from one end of the pitch to the other to give Brighton what was only their third Premier League win from 19 matches.
Pascal Gross started things off with a deft little touch around 30 yards away from Robert Sanchez’s goal. Ben White drove forward to feed Alexis Mac Allister, who glided into space before threading a pass the eye of a needle to Leandro Trossard.
Mac Allister continued his run, Trossard laid the ball around the corner and Leeds had been suitably carved open for Mac Allister to roll a pass across goal to leave Neal Maupay with a tap in from three yards.
Had a team managed by Pep of Catalonia scored such a passing move, then it would be played on continuous loop for a week on Sky Sports News.
Because it was little old Brighton managed by Graham from Solihul, it barely got a mention – which was a real shame as this was Potterball at its finest. 13.97 percent of you at least appreciated the artistry in another surprise Brighton win over the 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up.
Third place went to a man who only deals in Goal of the Season contenders, Yves Bissouma. The WAB Brighton Player of the Season 2020-21 has scored four times in his Albion career but every one of those goals has come from a distance of at least 25 yards.
Scooping up 10.20 percent of the vote was Bissouma’s strike in the 2-1 FA Cup Fourth Round win over League One Blackpool. After an opening 30 minutes which medical scientists hailed as a breakthrough in the quest to find a cure for insomnia, Bissouma injected some excitment with a rocket from a full 30 yards which flew straight into the very top corner of the Tangerines goal.
WeAreBrighton.com Brighton Goal of the Season 2020-21 – The Results
Danny Welbeck v Leeds United (H) – 56.82%
Neal Maupay v Leeds United (A) – 13.97%
Yves Bissouma v Blackpool (H) – 10.20%
Yves Bissouma v Everton (A) – 8.00%
Leandro Trossard v Newcastle United (H) – 6.90%
Danny Welbeck v Aston Villa (A) – 4.08%
Previous Winners: Alireza Jahanbakhsh (2020), Anthony Knockaert (2019), Jose Izquierdo (2018), Steve Sidwell (2017), Jiri Skalak (2016) Rohan Ince (2015), Jake Forster-Caskey (2014), Craig Mackail-Smith (2013), Inigo Calderon (2012), Liam Bridcutt (2011), Gary Dicker (2010).
