The WAB Brighton Player Power Rankings: September 2021
When will the dream end? Brighton continued their best ever start to a top flight season by going unbeaten in September, ending the month sitting pretty in sixth in the Premier League and with every single player who took part contributing something to the cause.
These were no easy fixtures, either. With each passing week, the Albion’s 1-0 win at a Brentford side who were yet to otherwise lose by the end of the month looked better and better.
Defeating top six regulars Leicester City at home was impressive even if it needed a huge helping hand from VAR awarding Brighton a penalty and then disallowing two Foxes goals for offside in the second half.
Decent Championship opponents in Swansea City were swatted aside with ease by a second-string Seagulls XI in the Carabao Cup.
The Albion then ended the month by showing determination and fighting spirit to rescue a draw in the final seconds away at rivals Crystal Palace despite giving their worst display of the campaign so far.
All of that was enough to see Graham Potter nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Month award. Who though was the best Brighton player in September? Time to consult the WAB Power Rankings and find out.
1) Marc Cucurella – 55.47
Well, as first months at a new club go… Marc Cucurella has not done badly. Top of the Power Rankings as the best Brighton player in September 2021, he has already shown at Brentford and Palace that he can do an excellent job defensively and be a real threat going forward when tearing Leicester apart. His performance against the Foxes must rank as one of the most impressive home debuts in recent times and he has already established himself as a firm fan favourite. Fantastic hair, too.
2) Leandro Trossard – 55.19
The last remnants of summer remained with us in September and of course that meant Leandro Trossard was at his best for Brighton, seeing as he is a player who always performs well when the weather is warmer. His winning goal against Brentford was of the highest class as he waited until the opportune moment to pull the trigger and he claimed an assist in the 2-1 win over Leicester via an excellent free kick headed home by Danny Welbeck.
3) Neal Maupay – 54.65
Oh Neal! Two goals from three appearances and sparking a spectacular meltdown amongst the home faithful at Selhurst Park with that 95th minute equaliser saw him voted as our WAB Player of the Month. The ratings did not have him scored quite so highly, but third place was still an excellent finish for a man who is playing at the top of his game and full of confidence so far this season.
4) Shane Duffy – 53.73
The overwhelming feel-good success story of 2021-22. Helped the Albion to a clean sheet against a Bees frontline featuring the ever-dangerous Ivan Toney. It was his towering header that earned Brighton their first half penalty in the win over Leicester. Both Joel Veltman and Big Dan Burn returned to fitness in September but still King Shane remains one of the first names on the team sheet.
5) Robert Sanchez – 53.47
Some important interventions on the pitch but September will always be remembered as the month when Robert Sanchez went utterly insane at Selhurst Park. Nothing had been able to melt his ice-cool demeanour over the past nine months until Maupay’s equaliser led to him getting in a fight and then goading the Holmesdale End as he left via the tunnel. What a man.
6) Lewis Dunk – 52.79
It is unusual to see the Albion captain this far down the rankings. It is not because he has played poorly either but more to do with the fact that those around him have elevated their games to new heights. His best work of September came when keeping a player as good as Jamie Vardy quiet for the most part as Brighton saw off Leicester.
7) Joel Veltman – 52.31
His versatility came to the fore again in September as he played as a right wing back, a right sided centre back and an orthodox right back at various points across the month. His clever return of Vicente Guaita’s poor free kick at Selhurst paved the way for Maupay to equalise as it finished Palace 1-1 Brighton.
8) Adam Lallana – 50.66
He ran the show against Leicester as the Foxes midfield were unable to get near him. The value of this leadership and experience in what is a relatively young side cannot be underestimated and the much-maligned Albion medical team also deserve their fair share of credit for getting him through so many minutes. Brighton are reaping the benefits of that.
9) Dan Burn – 48.89
Made an important contribution off the bench on his return from injury in the closing stages of the Leicester win. Enjoyed the opportunity to go rampaging forward with much more regularity that he gets in the Premier League when Swansea visited in the Carabao Cup before being the half time sacrificial giraffe against Palace as Potter changed formation to try and prevent the Eagles being so dominant in midfield.
10) Danny Welbeck – 48.14
Three Premier League games out of three started for Dat Guy in September was a good return for a player who is meant to be the most injury prone at Brighton, even if he was not his best. Still managed to score what proved to be the winner at home to Leicester with a beautiful flicked header from Trossard’s pinpoint free kick.
11) Jakub Moder – 46.88
The Poland international is developing a bit of a reputation as a super sub. Came on in the 1-0 win at Brentford and was involved in the winner and and then helped the Albion deliver an improved second half performance against Palace by injecting some much-needed pace and dynamism into midfield.
12) Yves Bissouma – 37.34
Brentford became the latest opponents to discover just how good the Malian midfielder is. He picked up a first half injury against Leicester but hobbled through the best part of an hour on one leg and still looked head and shoulders above anything else on the pitch.
13) Aaron Connolly – 33.46
Involved in more gossip page headlines as it was revealed that he and his Love Island ex-girlfriend had gone raving at a festival together the day of the Brentford game. Two goals and a man-of-the-match performance against Swansea did at least mean that his scoring tally for 2021 is catching up on the number of newspaper stories he has been involved in this calendar year. That brace also did little to dissuade the notion that he is a Championship striker…
14) Alexis Mac Allister – 32.71
Like Moder, another player who seems to be suffering from gaining a super sub tag. Set up Trossard’s goal at Brentford from the bench and then claimed both assists for Connolly’s goals against Swansea with perfectly weighted through balls to split the visiting defence open.
15) Solly March – 31.25
One of the only negatives surrounding the signing of Cucurella is what it might mean for Solly March’s game time. He made only one start in September, playing as a right wing back against Leicester where he had a quieter game than most of his teammates. That backed up the theory that he is far better down the left, leaving Potter with a difficult job in trying to keep happy two very good talents vying for one position.
16) Steve Alzate – 28.37
Showed flashes of his ability against Swansea but had an evening to forget in Croydon, giving the ball away cheaply a couple of times in an appearance from the bench which lasted only 20 minutes before injury struck. Has subsequently undergone ankle injury and now faces three months on the sidelines.
17) Pascal Gross – 28.27
A Covid-19 close contact had him isolating in the early part of September. Got 45 minutes under his belt in the win over Swansea but struggled at Palace, where a midfield two of Lallana and himself was overrun in the first half by the energetic press of the Eagles’ three led by the impressive Conor Gallagher.
18) Ed Turns – 19.58
What do they feed academy defenders at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre? Ben White, Haydon Roberts, Antef Tsoungui and now Ed Turns. Second place in the Brighton 2-0 Swansea player ratings tells you what a fine debut the Sussex-born defender had, giving a performance that had a touch of the Whites about it.
19) Marc Leonard – 17.92
Only found out he was starting 30 minutes before the Swansea game when Enock Mwepu pulled up injured in the warm up. He gave a fine display which involved 45 minutes in the middle of the park and 45 minutes at right back, showing the versatility we had first seen during pre-season. Easy to see why Potter rates him so highly.
20) Tariq Lamptey – 17.08
He is back! The price of a Swansea ticket was justified when the name Tariq Lamptey appeared in a Brighton starting XI for the first time since December. Got through 45 minutes before a pre-planned switch for Gross at half time. The sight of Lamptey and Cucurella bombing down the wings in tandem is going to be quite something to behold.
21) Taylor Richards – 17.08
A bit of a quiet night against Swansea for a player around whom there is so much hype. Ran at the defence a couple of times, which did at least make for an unusual sight for an Albion number 10.
22) Jeremy Sarmiento – 17.08
Is Jeremy Sarmiento this season’s young player who will appear from nowhere to become a first team regular? Signed for considerable expense in the summer from Benfica, the teenager won what felt like 21 free kicks in the space of 10 minutes against Swansea as the visitors’ only answer to stopping him was to foul. One to keep an eye on.
23) Haydon Roberts – 16.67
The very clear and obvious leader of the defence in the Swansea win despite being only 19 himself. The prospect of a Roberts and Turns Brighton-born-and-bred defence once Dunk winds down his career and Adam Webster moves onto a bigger club is mouth watering.
24) Jason Steele – 16.67
It is never dull with Jason Steele involved. Captain in the Carabao Cup again, he mixed a couple of fine saves with getting in a complete mess when trying to pass out to Alzate which should have resulted in a Swansea goal.
25) Adam Webster – 15.31
His early departure from the Brentford game with injury was a blow. Potter said he will be out for a couple of weeks. Based on last season’s injury which the Brighton boss said would take a few days to heal but which actually ruled him out for nine weeks, we can probably expect to see Webster again some time in April.
26) Jurgen Locadia – 13.75
DJ Jurgen took time out from his music career and being an influencer to play for 20 minutes against Swansea. The cheers he got from the Amex crowd show that the WAB Team are not the only ones converted to his cult by the millions of Instagram photos of him drinking coffee, working on a computer or shopping for clothes accompanied by deep and meaningful captions.
27) Enoch Mwepu – 12.50
Gave the ball away far too frequently against Leicester, not something that anyone wanted to happen given how under the cosh the Albion were. It will take him time to get up to speed with the Premier League, but we all know that anyway.
The WAB Power Rankings are formulated through our matchday player scores. To play your part, make sure to follow us on Twitter and leave your post game player ratings in the relevant thread.
