Southampton 1-1 Brighton: Hey Neal Maupay, top of the ratings again
Heeeeeeeeey Neal Maupaaaayyyyyyy, ooooh, ahhhh! For the second time in 72 hours, Neal Maupay found himself topping the player ratings following a late equaliser as this time Brighton salvaged a 1-1 draw away at Southampton.
Maupay spotted James Ward-Prowse darting back to cover the left side of the stricken Alex McCarthy’s goal as Jakub Moder lined up a free kick in the 98th minute with the Albion trailing to the Saints.
The striker duly took the chance to steal four or five yards of his own, knowing Ward-Prowse would be playing him onside. When Moder’s free kick rebounded off the wall and was volleyed hopefully back into the box, Maupay was duly in a perfect position to hammer past McCarthy and level the game.
To get in that position in the first placed showed Maupay’s intelligence and awareness. It also meant that nobody on the way back from St Mary’s was talking about the Albion failing to win for a 10th successive Premier League game. Instead, it was all about Maupay and those scenes in the away end – just like on Wednesday night at West Ham.
And whilst the late drama papered over an otherwise poor performance, these Southampton 1-1 Brighton player ratings do not. Maupay was miles ahead of anyone else with the only other Albion player to score a 7 or above being Yves Bissouma.
Better will be needed ahead of games with the likes of Spurs, Wolves, Manchester United and Chelsea to come before December is out. That sounds challenging enough, even before you take into consideration Brighton’s lengthening injury list.
A tough few weeks lie ahead – but before we get there, here is how the Albion rated at St Mary’s.
Robert Sanchez – 6.13
Another mixed bag from the Albion goalkeeper. Produced a splendid double save in the first half but was at fault for the Southampton goal, firstly through a poor goal kick and then when remaining rooted to his line when he really should have been collecting the ball returned into the area.
Joel Veltman – 6.25
Part of a three man central defence with Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster ruled out. A typically solid showing which came to an early conclusion when he take a nasty blow to the nose and was replaced by Jakub Moder.
Shane Duffy – 6.75
Not only was he returned to the starting XI, but he was also handed the armband in the absence of Dunk. Responded by giving a leader’s display, including one moment when he made an excellent block followed by a tackle in the space of a couple of seconds. His celebration of the equaliser in front of the away end will also stick in the memory for some time.
Dan Burn – 6.13
Was probably not expecting to be thrown straight back into the starting XI on his return from injury, but needs must. Helped keep Che Adams relatively quiet, no mean feat given how often he has been a thorn in the side of the Albion in the past.
Tariq Lamptey – 6.38
Outshone by Southampton’s own former Chelsea academy right back signed for a knockdown price, Tino Livramento. Lamptey still did a decent job defensive wise but did not have his usual impact going forward as Kyle Walker-Peters did well against him.
Yves Bissouma – 7.00
Other than Maupay, he was the only player to score above a 7 in the Southampton 1-1 Brighton player ratings. Constantly won back possession for the Albion and embarked on some powerful runs forward, including when setting Maupay up for an opportunity.
Pascal Gross – 5.50
Not his best afternoon. Brighton struggled to get him on the ball when under the cosh in the first half before Potter decided to replace him with Aaron Connolly in a change to 4-4-2 within 10 minutes of the restart.
Enock Mwepu – 6.25
Plenty of energy and flashes of the intelligence that we have come to expect from The Computer in his brief Brighton career so far. Had the best Albion chance of the first half when his low effort early on from a clever Leandro Trossard cross was repelled by Alex McCarthy in the Southampton goal.
Marc Cucurella – 6.38
Had his hands full with Livramento but still managed to get up and down the left flank with vigour. Some questionable decision making at times but he was still one of the better Brighton players going forward.
Leandro Trossard – 6.50
Southampton knew the threat he posed and decided the best course of action was to try and kick him off the pitch. For the best part of 80 minutes, he somehow survived to be his meandering best. Eventually though, he left proceedings on a stretcher as Brighton finished with 10 men.
NEAL MAUPAY – 8.38
Added a 98th minute equaliser to his 89th and 95th minute equalisers already recorded. Six Premier League goals before the halfway stage of the season means he is on course for his best ever campaign. Brighton would be a lot worse off without and him and hopefully a place at the top of the player ratings for the second game running is a sign that the doubters are beginning to realise just what he brings to the table.
Aaron Connolly – 6.00
Back from injury and racking up points on his driving licence. This was one of his better performances of the season, the highlight being a clever sideways pass to give Maupay a good shooting opportunity.
Solly March – 6.63
Another lively showing from the bench. Ran directly at the heart of the Southampton defence which they did not seem to like, most notably when making 40 yards of ground down the pitch to find Connolly in the build up to that Maupay chance.
Jakub Moder – 6.63
An industrious presence once taking over from the injured Veltman. His free kick which crashed into the wall wasn’t great but he reacted smartly to volley the rebound back into the box, where Maupay had put himself in the perfect position to convert.
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.
