Brighton 0-2 Everton: Albion unstuck by Toffees’ width and pace

Maybe we were all getting a bit carried away thinking the Albion would win the Premier League after beating the might of Burnley and Watford. Everton and Rafa Benitez provided opposition a step up in class and it showed as the Seagulls surrendered their 100 percent start to the season, the full time score at the Amex being Brighton 0-2 Everton.

Look through Graham Potter’s squad and how many natural full backs do you see? The lesser spotted Tariq Lamptey is the only one and he has been injured for the past eight months. Solly March can do a job there as we saw last week against Ismaïla Sarr, but he is more of a winger.

Which brings us nicely onto the next question of how many natural wide players does Potter have at his disposal? March and Leandro Trossard, even though Trossard has been used almost exclusively in central positions since his summer 2019 arrival from Genk.

Benitez is one of the shrewdest managers around and he clearly identified the lack of width Brighton have as a weakness to expose. March being ruled out with injury was an unexpected boost to the the Toffee’s plan as it made the Albion even more unbalanced in wide areas, which is where both the goals in Brighton 0-2 Everton came from.

Asking a man with the speed of Pascal Gross to try and deal with the pace of Demarai Gray was akin to taking Sue off the checkout at Poundland and expecting her to fly a rocket to the moon.

It was a total mismatch and absolutely no surprise to see Gray open the scoring with four minutes of the first half remaining to give Everton the lead.

Some sloppy play in possession from Brighton gave the ball away with Everton working it to Gray about 10 yards inside the Albion half.

Gray tore forward into the vast swathe of space between Adam Webster and Gross, as if he were Usain Bolt about to set a new 100 metre world record.

Gross meanwhile looked like an articulated lorry trying to drive through a sea of treacle with its handbrake still on as he gave chase. Who could have predicted a technically gifted, creative number 10 with no pace being played out-of-position at right wing back getting rinsed by a quick and nippy winger?

Webster proved no match for Gray either, who skipped past the despairing lunge of the Albion defender before drilling a shot past Robert Sanchez. The Brighton goalkeeper should perhaps have done better, but take nothing away from Gray for what was a quality and deserved goal.

Whilst Brighton haggle over the release clause in the Getafe contract of Marc Cucurella and continue to chase Benfica striker Darwin Nunez – despite Nunez seeming to prefer a move to Kabul over Sussex – Everton picked up Gray from Bayer Leverkusen for £1.7 million. It is a deal which has the potential to be the bargain of the season.

Just like in the 2-1 win away at Burnley on the opening day of the season, Potter did at least realise that his starting XI and formation was not working and made a change at the break.

On came Joel Veltman in place of sacrificial lamb Alexis Mac Allister as Brighton switched to a back four to try and counter Everton’s threat from out wide.

Unlike at Turf Moor though, Potter’s half time adjustments were unable to coax a better performance out of the Albion. In case you need reminding, Veltman is not a natural full back either, however well he did deputising for Lamptey last season.

Veltman was caught out within 11 minutes of his introduction by Seamus Coleman rampaging forward from right back, the result being a clumsy challenge in the box and a penalty which nobody could have any real complaints about.

There was some drama before Dominic Calvert-Lewin could convert the spot kick, Richarlison acting like a spoilt child by refusing to hand the ball to Everton’s designated penalty taker until captain Coleman got involved.

Despite all the kerfuffle, Calvert-Lewin kept a cool head and although Sanchez went the right way, the Albion goalkeeper could not keep the kick out. Brighton 0-2 Everton and you sensed even then it was game over against an organised and resolute Toffees side.

Brighton had chances, most of which came in a bright opening. Neal Maupay whistled an effort from distance just over Jordan Pickford’s goal and a Mac Allister shot deflected wide.

Both incidents caused Pickford to go absolutely insane at his defence, bringing back memories of England’s wonderful run to the final of Euro 2020 (in 2021) in which the Everton goalkeeper was one of the undoubted stars.

The Toffees were helped in establishing a foothold in the game by Brighton consistently losing possession following that strong start, something which would become a running theme of the next hour.

Mac Allister was the first to gift Everton the ball, resulting in Sanchez making an excellent save low down at his near post from Andros Townsend.

Although not as prominent as Gray down the opposite flank, Townsend too made his mark against Jakub Moder, who was asked to do a job on the left in place of the absent March.

Who could have predicted a technically gifted, creative number 10 with quite a bit of pace being played out-of-position at left wing back getting rinsed by a quick and experienced winger?

Sanchez was then poor with the ball at his feet. Fortunately for the Albion number one, Lucas Digne sent his effort into the North Stand rather than the back of the Brighton goal.

Yves Bissouma had made an outstanding start to proceedings but even Brighton’s best player was impacted by this new-found phobia of keeping the football as he gave it away to Richarlison who was off target in another let off.

Initially, it looked like Potter’s half time adjustments might force a way back into the game for Brighton. Trossard should have done better to get a shot away after a charge forward from Veltman.

A Gross free kick then deflected off the Everton wall, drawing an outstanding save from Pickford as he reacted brilliantly to fling out his left arm whilst diving to his right to block the effort. Everton just about managed to hack the rebound away before a blue and white shirt could turn it home.

The importance of that save was highlighted minutes later when the scoreline became Brighton 0-2 Everton. Potter threw on Danny Welbeck and Taylor Richards in response and although Richards looked neat and tidy on his Premier League debut, the Toffees remained in control and might have added to their two goals were it not for some inspired goalkeeping from Sanchez.

Everton were always going to provide a much sterner test than Watford and Burnley, and so it proved. With Rafa the Gaffer at the helm and the squad they have, they should be challenging for the top six this season.

That Brighton lost against the first decent opposition they have played shows that this Albion side is far from the finished article. Benitez outwitting Potter is a reminder that the Albion boss is still learning.

Where Brighton have shown improvement in 2021-22 is in being able to beat Burnley and Watford. In Potter’s first two seasons in charge, the Albion had an appalling record against sides around them in the bottom half of the table.

Fixtures against the Clarets and the Hornets a year ago would have garnered only a couple of points at most (but a lot of xG). This time around, we sit here with six points on the board going into the first international break of the season.

Defeat against Everton could even be beneficial in the long run. Perhaps Benitez exposing the holes and weaknesses in this Brighton squad will have woken the club up to the desperate need for reinforcements before the transfer window shuts, especially in wide areas?

Three points may have been lost, but if it means that Tony Bloom finds a couple of million down the back of the sofa to get the Cucurella deal and any other last minute signings over the line then that will be a worth sacrifice.