Brighton 2-0 Brentford: Feliz Navidad to Spain topping the player ratings
Feliz Navidad! It was Brighton & Hove Albion’s Spanish contingent of Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez who topped the Boxing Day player ratings as the Seagulls ended their 12 game winless run by beating Brentford 2-0 at the Amex.
Their joint placing in first came about thanks to their efforts in preserving a clean sheet and with it, a very welcome three points.
Sanchez made two superb saves in quick succession on the hour mark, without which there may have been fewer smiles on the faces of the 12,000 or so supporters who were able to get to the Amex despite the 8pm kick off and the lack of public transport.
Cucurella then produced a magnificent goal line clearance in the final 10 minutes. It says much about how good that moment was that Ian Wright was left purring about it afterwards whilst brilliant goals from Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay barely got a mention.
Here are your full player ratings from Brighton 2-0 Brentford.
ROBERT SANCHEZ – 8.13
He looked on course for a reasonably quiet evening until being called into action 15 minutes into the second half. Showed excellent reactions and athleticism to keep out Shandon Baptiste’s heavily deflected effort and then sprung low down to his left to claw away an Ethan Pinnock header. No exaggeration to say they were match winning saves and enough for him to top the Brighton 2-0 Brentford ratings alongside his compatriot Cucurella.
Tariq Lamptey – 7.06
A low mark by his high standards reflects the fact that most of his evening was spent defending rather than being the electric talent going forward who normally causes so much excitement. Played a big role in the clean sheet.
Adam Webster – 7.31
Unable to carry the ball forward so much playing in a back four with only one fellow centre back to cover his charges into attack. Did a fine job in restricting the dangerous Ivan Toney to only one chance of note over the course of the 90 minutes.
Dan Burn – 8.00
One of his best displays of the season. Hit the Brentford bar with a header and cleared an early Baptiste chance after Sanchez was beaten. It was revealed afterwards that he had dislocated his shoulder after only eight minutes, popping the joint back in place and carrying on as if nothing had happened. What a man.
MARC CUCURELLA – 8.13
The awareness, the positioning and then the leap to out jump Burn and somehow get Pinnock’s header up and over the bar represented an unreal piece of defending. He was a constant threat down the left in an attacking sense, particularly when Sanchez was able to pick him out with pinpoint distribution.
Adam Lallana – 7.63
Handed the captain’s armband in the absence of Lewis Dunk and Pascal Gross. That Brighton did not miss the suspended Yves Bissouma one bit tells you everything about what a fine job Lallana did in the holding midfield role.
Enoch Mwepu – 8.00
The Computer got his calculations spot on when spying the run of Trossard and lifting a perfect aerial pass over the Brentford defence for the Vampire of Genk to volley Brighton into the lead. Should have scored himself but that can be forgiven for a performance full of energy.
Jakub Moder – 7.25
Linked up well with Lallana in the build up to Maupay doubling the Brighton lead. He covers an insane amount of ground, especially when deployed in a traditional central midfield role as he was here.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7.25
The lesser spotted Mac Allister was handed a rare start. Made the most of it with a scheming performance. After watching Moder and Solly March’s woeful set pieces in the 1-0 defeat to Wolves, it was refreshing to have someone who could beat the first man when taking corners and free kicks.
Leandro Trossard – 7.81
Timed his run to perfection and then produced an outrageous first time finish on the volley to put Brighton into the lead. A very special footballer who deserves the attention of the likes of Barcelona, although hopefully the interest of the Catalan giants is over following their signing of Ferran Torres from Manchester City.
Neal Maupay – 7.81
Oh Neal! Continued to build on his reputation for scoring the hard ones but missing the easy ones with a a perfectly hit curler which left Alvaro Fernandez grasping at thin air. The critics have gone very quite all of a sudden…
Danny Welbeck – 6.69
45 second half minutes were his first since limping out of the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace in September. A couple of nice moments as he looked to work off the rust of such a long period out of action.
Pascal Gross – 5.75
Given the final six minutes to help Brighton keep the ball and see the game out. Promptly took a shot which went out for a throw, gifting Brentford possession. It was just about the most un-Gross-like thing imaginable.
Steve Alzate – 5.88
Like Welbeck, he was making his first appearance since Palace away. Nearly marked it with a goal, drawing a decent save from Fernandez with a curling effort.
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.
