WAB Brighton Power Rankings May 2023
From the moment Brighton told Moises Caicedo he would not be sold to Arsenal, the Ecuadorian midfielder has been a man on a mission, topping the WAB Power Rankings in February, March and April.
But that run of three consecutive number one finishes is over. May saw Caicedo succeeded in top spot by his fellow South American wonderkid Julio Enciso, who completes the double in the process having also been voted WAB Player of the Month.
Competition was particularly fierce for the two accolades thanks to Roberto De Zerbi rotating his squad to cope with seven matches. Enciso winning both is testament to just how good he was in May.
In total, 20 players turned out for the Albion in their ultimately successful quest for a top six finish. Here are how they rated in the WAB Brighton Power Rankins for May 2023.
1) Julio Enciso – 74.37
The moment everyone will remember from Enciso’s magnificent May will of course be that stunning strike against Manchester City which was named Premier League Goal of the Season. His month was about so much more than that, however. He also scored at Arsenal, gave a livewire showing off the bench against Newcastle United and was arguably the best Albion player on the pitch on the final day at Villa.
2) Alexis Mac Allister 72.54
Do not cry because it is over, smile because it happened. Aware that his Brighton career was coming to an end, Mac Allister was determined to ensure he departed with the Albion having secured European football. Put in a series of strong performances with his 98th minute penalty which beat Manchester United unlikely to ever be forgotten by those lucky enough to witness it.
3) Pervis Estupinan – 71.69
Estupinan was the last outfield player De Zerbi offered a rest to, highlighting both his importance to Brighton and his astonishing physical condition. Got the goal his efforts this season deserved with the third against Arsenal when he found himself one of the furthest Albion players forward despite it being injury time and with his side leading 2-0.
4) Moises Caicedo – 70.70
De Zerbi sprung a surprise when using Caicedo at right back in the win over Manchester United. He looked almost as comfortable in his new role as he has done in the middle of the park all season. Whack another £20 million on that asking price as a consequence of this recently discovered versatility, Mr Bloom.
5) Jason Steele – 69.72
Robert Sanchez throwing his toys out the pram left Steele as De Zerbi’s undoubted number one. Conceded five times at home to Everton which included scoring an own goal but the bad was far outweighed by the good of a series of superb saves against United and Manchester City.
6) Kaoru Mitoma – 68.59
Whether it is burnout or right backs figuring out how to deal with him, Mitoma seemed to be a little less effective in May. Other than at Arsenal, where he gave former Albion man Ben White a torrid afternoon as Brighton picked up their annual victory at the Emirates Stadium.
7) Deniz Undav – 63.52
His strong finish to what has largely been a difficult first campaign in England continued with three goals. All were top quality finishes, whilst he also provided plenty of entertainment at Newcastle by scoring an own goal and giving away the free kick from which the Toon scored their second before managing to put the ball in the right net.
8) Levi Colwill – 63.38
Not many managers would come up with the idea of using a centre back to man mark an opposition midfielder and not many centre backs have the positional sense or bravery to fulfil such a role. De Zerbi is not most managers and Colwill is seemingly not most centre backs, as he showed with the job he did on Martin Odegaard and then Kevin De Bruyne.
9) Evan Ferguson – 61.83
Ferguson’s return from injury provided a welcome boost for the run in. Both his May goals came against Southampton as he bullied the visiting defence. Hard to believe he is still only 18-years-old.
10) Facundo Buonanotte – 60.99
Brings with him the inconsistency you expect from a teenager taking his first steps in English football. A glimpse into just how good Buonanotte can become was given in the draw with City, when he showed the ability to glide past two or three defenders with the ball at his feet. Him and Enciso clicking at the same time is a frightening prospect.
11) Pascal Gross – 57.18
Scored his 10th goal and moved onto 10 assists, making 2022-23 the most prolific in both metrics of his Brighton career. As the player who has done more than most to establish the Albion in the Premier League, it was apt that he scored the third and final goal past Southampton on the afternoon European football was secured for the first time in the club’s history.
12) Danny Welbeck – 56.06
Dat Guy loves a game against his former clubs and it was therefore no surprise to see his two highest player rating scores in May come against United and Arsenal. Almost scored one of the best free kicks seen at the Amex when his effort bent up and over the wall crashed onto the City bar with Stefan Ortega well beaten.
13) Lewis Dunk – 53.80
Once seventh spot was secured and with a recall to the England squad after nearly five years in the bag, Dunk’s work for 2022-23 was done. Sat out the final two games of the campaign as De Zerbi opted to give him as much rest as possible as he aims to add to his one international cap when the Three Lions face Malta and North Macedonia in June.
14) Billy Gilmour – 41.83
You could argue he deserved more minutes. Good playing in front of the back four in the United and Arsenal victories. And his defence splitting through ball which set up Undav for the consolation goal was a thing of beauty.
15) Joel Veltman – 28.03
Injuries restricted Veltman to starts only against Southampton and Villa. With his contract set to expire this summer and still no news on a new deal, the sad possibility remains that we may have seen the last of him in a Brighton shirt.
16) Adam Webster – 26.76
See Veltman above, just minus the contract expiring thing. A great performance alongside Dunk to secure a clean sheet in the United win was followed by a bit of a nightmare against Everton, four matches out injured and a return for the final day defeat at Villa.
17) Solly March – 23.80
Brighton became much more of an attacking threat against United when March came off the bench, almost like he had a point to prove for missing a penalty at Wembley or something. It was cruel in the extreme that the best season of his career was then brought to a premature halt by injury with five games still to play.
18) Jan Paul van Hecke – 16.06
Looked Championship quality at best in defeat at Newcastle. There was a general sense of fear and foreboding when De Zerbi then opted to play him against Erling Haaland when City came to the Amex. Van Hecke though was excellent, even having the nerve to pull off a Cruyff Turn in his own box when under pressure from the champions.
19) Odel Offiah – 6.34
Did you know that rugby legend Martin Offiah is his uncle? Received his longest Premier League runout to date when coming off the bench at Newcastle and put up a showing decent enough to have some Albion fans clamouring for him to start in the following match with Southampton.
20) Yasin Ayari – 6.06
Handed his full Premier League debut against Villa but struggled to make much impact.
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.
