Newcastle 2-1 Brighton: Alzate and Gross player ratings justify returns
Losing 2-1 to Newcastle United may have been a disappointing result for Brighton, but the player ratings suggest that Graham Potter did at least get his midfield partnership right against the Saudi sportswashers.
There were more than a few eyebrows raised with Yves Bissouma dropping to the bench, Potter taking the bold call to drop his best player as a consequence of his indifferent form since the January transfer window slammed shut.
The omission of Alexis Mac Allister also came as something of a surprise. In their places came Steve Alzate and Pascal Gross and despite the murmurs of discontent surrounding their selection – especially from the pAsCal gRoSs iS a sEt pIEcE mErcHaNt crew – it was the two returnees who finished first and second in the player ratings.
They also happened to be the only players of the 14 used at St James’ Park to score a six or above. These scores do seem a little harsh as bar the calamitous two minute period when Brighton allowed Newcastle to net both their goals, the Albion were the better team in what was actually a decent performance.
Football is a results business however and right now, the Albion are not delivering. That ultimately is why we sit here with a pretty grim set of Newcastle 2-1 Brighton player ratings.
Robert Sanchez – 5.14
For the first time in his Brighton career, he is playing in a side who are losing on a regular basis. The result of this is that some Albion fans have suggested that Jason Steele start in goal next week against Liverpool. Sanchez might not have been setting the world on fire recently, but come on…
Joel Veltman – 5.57
Found himself up against Ryan Fraser, who was absolutely on one. That meant a difficult afternoon for the Albion’s Mr Dependable. Arguably the best Seagulls defender on show, even if the Newcastle 2-1 Brighton ratings have him on a par with Dunk.
Lewis Dunk – 5.57
He continues to look rusty despite having been back from injury for over a month now. Allowed former teammate Chris Wood too much time in the build up to the Newcastle goal but went onto redeem himself by netting the Brighton consolation.
Shane Duffy – 4.43
Solid enough defensively although the collective gasp from the away end whenever he started playing around the ball at the back could be heard in Sunderland. Missed a glorious chance to score in the first 10 minutes when putting a free header from a Gross corner wide from no more than four yards.
Marc Cucurella – 5.71
The world and his wife can see that Cucurella is most effective when used as a wing back with the freedom to attack, safe in the knowledge that there are three centre backs behind him to cover. After he gave the ball away in the Newcastle half, the Toon ruthlessly exposed this as Jacob Murphy broke into the space vacated at left back to tee up Fraser for the opening goal.
Tariq Lamptey – 4.43
Last time Brighton came to St James’ Park, Lamptey was unplayable and ended up being substituted after an hour having single handedly won the game. This was a far cry from that performance. Like Cucurella, he needs to be redeployed in the wing back role in which he was so dangerous in the first half of the season.
Pascal Gross – 6.57
Two shots on target from 180 minutes against Burnley and Aston Villa highlighted how important Gross is to this Brighton side, even if some fans cannot see it. His return yielded a 26th Premier League assist and if Duffy and Danny Welbeck had not spurned easy opportunities, he would have had two more.
STEVE ALZATE – 7.14
Selected in the holding midfield role ahead of Bissouma and justified the decision by topping the Newcastle 2-1 Brighton player ratings. Covered plenty of ground, tidy in possession and based on this showing he deserves a run of games in his favoured position which Potter has ill-afforded him so far.
Jakub Moder – 4.57
Has his misfortune in front of goal impacted on his confidence? For a player who is normally in the thick of the action, it was noticeable that he struggled to get involved with much at all.
Leandro Trossard – 5.00
Caused the Newcastle defence a few problems. Probably should have done better with a second half chance kept out by Martin Dubravka but this was more like it from the Vampire of Genk after a few below-par weeks.
Danny Welbeck – 4.29
Did a reasonable job playing as an old fashioned target man. His afternoon though was overshadowed by letting Fabian Schar escape for the second Newcastle goal and missing a decent first half opportunity.
Neal Maupay – 4.86
Dropped to the bench despite the fact he was starved of service in the Burnley and Villa games. History suggests he does not respond well to the stick approach and that appeared to be the case again as he miscontrolled a couple of easy passes once introduced.
Solly March – 5.86
Reminded everyone that although his best performances have come down the left, he can also be a threat down the right. With Lamptey looking a little jaded, might Potter be tempted to start March and Cucurella down the flanks against Liverpool?
Alexis Mac Allister – 5.14
Demonstrated a few nice touches in his 10 minutes as the Albion went in search of an equaliser.
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.
