Preston 0-2 Brighton: Super Sanders the star of the WAB player ratings
These 11 men who feature in our WeAreBrighton.com Player Ratings for the Albion’s 0-2 win at Preston North End will go down in Brighton history as trailblazers.
Their achievement? Becoming the first Seagulls side to ever win a game at Deepdale. Brighton have journeyed there on 16 previous occasions dating back to 1908 and had never left with victory. Preston away has been a graveyard.
Well, not any more. Goals from Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Alexis Mac Allister secured success for Graham Potter’s second string team and a fourth round meeting with Manchester United.
Max Sanders ended up being the star of the show on his full Brighton debut with Der Kapitän Pascal Gross not far behind on an evening which again highlighted the Albion’s strength in depth.
Here are your player ratings for Preston North End 0-2 Brighton & Hove Albion.
Jason Steele – 7.20
He has somehow gone from being one of the biggest jokes in Sunderland Till I Die to pulling off worldie saves whenever given a chance in the Carabao Cup. The first half stop at full stretch low down to his left was excellent.
Joel Veltman – 7.00
Solid if unspectacular showing as we got to see what the Dutch defender could do at right back. It says much about the Albion’s strength at the back that it is hard to see how a player of his quality gets in ahead of our three first choice centre backs and first choice right back.
Dan Burn – 6.80
Had to play as the right sided centre back due to being the senior figure in Brighton’s defensive partnership. Spread the ball about well and organised the back line when Preston turned on the pressure.
Haydon Roberts – 7.60
Not hard to see why the teenage defender is attracting so much attention. He looked comfortable against a decent Championship attack and had no qualms when in possession. Reminiscent of a young Lewis Dunk – praise does not come much higher than that for an Albion defender.
Bernardo – 6.80
Scored against Portsmouth in the last round and played a part in one of the goals against Preston. Just like in the Pompey game, it took him some time to grow into the tie, perhaps due to rustiness.
Davy Propper – 6.60
Is he still carrying a knock? The midfielder picked up the second lowest ratings of any Brighton player in the 0-2 win over Preston despite being one of the most senior members of Potter’s starting XI.
MAX SANDERS – 8.00
Could not have done much more to impress on his full debut. Tidy in possession, made himself available and displayed real confidence in the middle of the park. If he is to go out on loan, the Championship will surely be his destination.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – 7.60
Potter has said he is not far away from the first team now. He looks a different player to the one who endured such a torrid first 18 months in England and another blockbuster goal had them dancing in the streets of the Tehran.
Pascal Gross – 7.80
Wore the captain’s armband for the first time and responded with an excellent performance to be the second highest scorer in the player ratings after Sanders. Played a part in both goals with that beautiful Cruyff Turn to tee up Mac Allister being the highlight.
Alexis Mac Allister – 6.80
Quieter than he was in the 4-0 win over Portsmouth, the Argentinian playmaker still managed to deliver the crucial second goal when timing his run to perfection to meet Gross’ cross.
Viktor Gyokeres – 6.20
The Swedish striker huffed and puffed, put himself about and almost scored. There was not too much in this performance though to suggest that he can step in and play in the Premier League should injury or suspension befall either Neal Maupay or Aaron Connolly. Brighton still need a striker before the transfer window closes.
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.
