Burnley 1-2 Brighton: Aint nobody like Shane Duffy in player ratings
Burnley 1-2 Brighton was the ultimate game of two halves and that is reflected in our player ratings. The Albion were woeful in the opening 45 minutes thanks to Graham Potter’s bizarre team selection. Once Potter switched to doing something vaguely sensible at the break, the second half was miles improved as the Seagulls came from behind to win at Turf Moor.
Such a difference was there in performance that we could have almost asked for separate first and second half ratings. As a result, there were some wildly varying scores with only one man being rated highly across the board – a certain Shane Duffy.
They say that one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. Joel Veltman was ruled out through isolation after a close contact and so Duffy was handed his first Brighton start since June 2020 as there was quite literally nobody else to play centre back following Brighton’s decision to pack off Leo Ostigard and Matt Clarke on loan to Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion respectively.
More than a few eyebrows would have been raised at Duffy’s selection, especially after he struggled so much last season at Celtic in a Scottish Premier League that is equivalent in quality to Sussex Sunday League Division Six.
At Turf Moor though, Duffy was back to the sort of form that saw him named Brighton Player of the Year in the 2018-19 season.
He may not have a long term future at the club as Potter has never been a fan, but what a joy it was to see him back in blue and white and loving life alongside Lewis Dunk. Both defenders had earned their Saturday night out wherever they go now that Molly Malone’s is closed.
Anyway, this is meant to be a set of player ratings rather than unmitigated praise for King Shane. So without further ado, here are your player ratings from Burnley 1-2 Brighton.
Robert Sanchez – 5.73
Made a shaky start as a terrible goal kick gave Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson the chance to rattle a post and a flap at a corner presented Ben Mee with a free header which luckily hit the bar. Grew in stature in the second half, so let us hope it was only a case of rustiness rather than any sort of second season syndrome.
Adam Webster – 5.64
Spent most of the first half looking like he was not sure if he was meant to be playing as a right sided centre back or an orthodox right back. Miles better after the break once Potter ditched his ridiculous starting line up and he played a part in the winner, carrying the ball forward into the Burnley half.
SHANE DUFFY – 7.91
An absolute colossus at the back. He blocked, headed and cleared everything including when hacking Mee’s header off the line after it bounced down from the crossbar. It is no exaggeration to say that without him and in particular his first half performance, this could have been a very different result for the Albion.
Lewis Dunk – 6.55
Not a particularly high score by the Brighton captain’s normal standards. What we will say is this: Duffy was woeful at Celtic but put him back alongside Dunk and he is a Premier League man-of-the-match. Ben White makes it into the England squad playing alongside Dunk and yet on his Arsenal debut, he looks completely at sea as the Gunners lose to Brentford. Look at the improvement that Dunk brings out in others to judge just how good he is.
Pascal Gross – 6.73
The German was the victim of Potter’s most farcical decision by having to start the game at left back. It was little surprise that he struggled there. Once moved to right wing back in the second half, he was able to put his creative talents to good use, including setting up the winner with a perfect low cross straight into the path of Alexis Mac Allister.
Steve Alzate – 6.18
Yves Bissouma was outstanding as a defensive midfielder last season, so naturally Potter decided to use Bissouma further forward at Burnley with Alzate holding. The Colombian international was unable to get into the game there but once moved into a more advanced role, he made some trademark driving runs and created a good chance for Leandro Trossard.
Solly March – 5.91
Started as a right winger, a position he has not played for over a year now. You could tell that he was not used to such a role and he became more prominent once used as a left wing back in the second half.
Yves Bissouma – 7.00
He did okay in that more advanced role in the first half. Potter’s decision to drop him deeper in the second was one of the reasons Brighton became so dominant as he constantly demanded the ball and looked to make things happened. His driven low pass which broke through the Burnley defence set Jakub Moder away to tee up the equaliser.
Enock Mwepu – 5.45
The sacrificial lamb for Potter’s half time changes, he made way for Adam Lallana after only 45 minutes. Hard to judge what he can bring to the party in such a short space of time and a reminder of just how tough the Premier League is, especially making your debut somewhere like Burnley.
Leandro Trossard – 6.18
Yet another who benefited from Potter’s half time changes. He was more prominent after the break when taken off the left wing and played centrally alongside Neal Maupay, asking plenty of questions of the Burnley defence. Nearly scored when curling a teasing effort just wide of the post.
Neal Maupay – 7.36
If he continues to play as well across the whole season as he did at Turf Moor, then big things could be in store for the French forward this season. Arrived at the back post to stab home Moder’s cross to make it 1-1, put in a real shift across the 90 minutes and thrived in front of a crowd again, doing his best to wind up the Burnley locals.
Adam Lallana – 7.00
It says much about the second half improvement that all three subs received ratings of at least 7.00 for Burnley 1-2 Brighton. Lallana was the first to be introduced and his footballing brain, touch of class and overall control helped get the Albion on the front foot.
Jakub Moder – 7.27
Within a minute of his introduction, he had escaped down the right to latch onto Bissouma’s through ball and deliver a low cross into the box finished off by Maupay. Quite the impact and a sign of what he can do with his determination to get forward from midfield.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7.45
Amazing what scoring a winning goal can do for your score, isn’t it? The Argentinian was second in the Burnley 1-2 Brighton ratings behind Duffy despite only being on the pitch for 12 minutes. He made an instant impression, sweeping Gross’ pass across Nick Pope with a clinical finish. Yes, you read that right. Brighton player and clinical finish in the same sentence.
The WAB Player Ratings are formulated using marks out of 10 given by Brighton fans via Twitter. To have your scores included, follow We Are Brighton on Twitter and look out for the player rating thread after each game.
