WAB Power Rankings: Finding the best Brighton player in April 2022
An excellent month resulted in three excellent performers being separated by only 0.18 points as the WAB Power Rankings attempted to find the best Brighton player in April.
Having lost six games in row across February and March, the Albion ended up winning three, drawing two and losing one of their six April fixtures. And that sole defeat came away at champions Manchester City.
In the space of seven days, Brighton won at Arsenal and Spurs to dominate North London. A 3-0 victory at Wolves was arguably more impressive given the Old Gold had the fourth-best defensive record in the Premier League coming into the game at Molineux.
The Amex form was not much to shout about, draws with lowly Norwich City and Southampton extending the winless home run from Boxing Day.
Still, that could not stop some impressive numbers being put on the board – but who came out on top as the best Brighton player in April by the slimmest of margins? Read on to find out.
1) Lewis Dunk – 75.93
The Albion captain did not even make it onto the shortlist of our WAB April Player of the Month vote, which looks like a particularly spectacular cock up with the Power Rankings declaring him the best Brighton player over the course of the six matches. A run of consistent performances put him in first place with his best 90 coming when pocketing Harry Kane at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
2) Joel Veltman – 75.91
He was the second highest scorer in the Brighton 0-0 Norwich player ratings for being the Albion’s best defender at one end and their most dangerous attacker at the other, only denied a goal by an outrageous save by his Dutch compatriot Tim Krul. That set him up for an impressive month in which he scored just 0.02 points less than Dunk.
3) Marc Cucurella – 75.75
There have been a few speedbumps in the road in his transition from left wing back to centre back. April though was the month when he looked truly at home in his new position, so much so that he was able to get involved with the opening goal at home to Norwich and the third away at Wolves.
4) Alexis Mac Allister – 73.97
Graham Potter’s new 3-3-3-1 formation saw him pushed into a more advanced role right behind Danny Welbeck. He has thrived working in the space between opposition defence and midfield and showed balls of steel to put away his second attempt at a penalty at Molineux after his first had been missed nine minutes earlier.
5) Danny Welbeck – 69.09
Welbz is Dat Guy. Absolutely no coincidence that his return to the starting XI following injury led to Brighton going from wretched form to picking up 11 points out of 18. Scored against Southampton, played a huge role in the own goal put past Fraser Forster by Mohammed Salisu and then claimed two assists at Wolves.
6) Enock Mwepu – 68.17
An injury-hit debut Premier League campaign came to a premature end when he limped off at Wolves. He has shown enough this season though to suggest that he will be a real force if he can stop picking up niggly little injuries. An all-action showing at Arsenal rounded off with a brilliant, clinical finish from outside the box was the highlight of his April.
7) Robert Sanchez – 67.33
Sanchez would have expected to have at least one save to make against European chasers Wolves and Spurs and yet the brilliance of the defence in front of him meant he had nothing to do. Three important late saves helped secure the win at the Emirates Stadium.
8) Moises Caicedo – 67.26
When Moises Caicedo wins the Ballon d’Or as the best player in the world in several years time, Brighton fans will remember April 2022 as the month a star was born. Came in for a shock first start against Arsenal and there has been no looking back. Results with him in the side speak for themselves.
9) Leandro Trossard – 64.17
A low place in the April Power Rankings for the Vampire of Genk, largely because he missed the trip to Manchester City through illness and was very quiet in the 0-0 draw with Norwich. Proved to be a revelation when moved to left wing back after that blank against the Canaries. Three goals from five appearances including the brilliantly taken late winner at Spurs saw him nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award.
10) Pascal Gross – 57.28
Eyebrows were raised when he started at right wing back against Arsenal. It worked on that occasion but was less successful when Potter threw him into that position from the bench against Southampton. His best performance of April came at Spurs when he was used centrally… unsurprisingly.
11) Solly March – 51.58
After being one of the Albion’s better players across February and March, he saw his involvement curtailed by Trossard being used at left wing back. Bounced back as he always seems to by impressing at right wing back in the Wolves win.
12) Tariq Lamptey – 43.83
It has been a long season for Lamptey after nearly a year on the sidelines up until October. Brighton have managed his game time sensibly and that resulted in limited starting opportunities as the campaign reaches its conclusion. Good against Spurs, less good when facing Manchester City and Norwich.
13) Yves Bissouma – 41.50
Put the best WAB Player Rating of the season so far on the board in the win at Spurs, even as a 10th booking of the season earned him a ban for two April games. Rounded the month of with his first Premier League goal for 18 months with a long distance piledriver against Wolves.
14) Adam Webster – 38.96
It always takes him a while to get up to speed after time out injured. Potter sought to negate that by drip-feeding him minutes from the bench in an attempt to gradually shake the ring rust rather than throwing him in at the deep end with the normal set of mistakes which follow. It kind of worked until Webster made his first start and disappointed against Southampton, after which it was back to being a substitute.
15) Jeremy Sarmiento – 29.87
Thrown on in the two Amex matches as Brighton attempted to find a way to end their barren home run. Displayed some nice touches in the Norwich game but unable to make much headway in the draw with Southampton.
16) Adam Lallana – 22.43
Introduced from the bench in the Arsenal and Spurs win, adding control and experience to the midfield. With the emergence of Mac Allister, Caicedo, Mwepu and Jakub Moder over the course of this season, that role of helping Brighton get over the line might become his forte in 2022-23.
17) Neal Maupay – 16.67
Oh, Neal! Potter claimed he would be backing his top scorer after Maupay sent a penalty against Norwich into orbit around the International Space Station. Actions speak louder than words however, and the French striker was afforded just a token run out from the bench at the Etihad Stadium from April’s five other fixtures.
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.
