Brighton 2-2 Southampton: Welbeck ends Albion’s drought to top ratings

After 96 long and painful days, there was finally an Albion goal to cheer at the Amex. Two goals in fact and Danny Welbeck playing central roles in both was enough to see him top the Brighton 2-2 Southampton player ratings.

Dat Guy gave the Seagulls the lead after only two minutes, becoming the first Brighton player to score a home goal since Adam Webster in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea back on January 18th.

Welbeck was then involved in the build up to the Albion’s second, although it did take Saints defender Mohammed Salisu to turn the ball past his own goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

How nice of Salisu to acknowledge that Brighton deserved to lead 2-0 at that point, realise the Seagulls were unlikely to net for themselves and therefore decide to score a quite marvellous own goal.

Unfortunately, things fell apart completely for Brighton after that. From domination of the tie against a poor Southampton, the Albion ended up conceding twice to James Ward-Prowse to blow their advantage and drop two points.

The Amex win counter remains stuck on a paltry three from 17 matches. That disappointment at blowing one of the best opportunities for a rare home win has fed into these Brighton 2-2 Southampton player ratings, which are pretty low across the board for a game in which the Seagulls bossed the first half.

Robert Sanchez – 5.29
Questions to be asked about whether he should have done better with the Ward-Prowse free kick. Clearly, he was not expecting it to go in the bottom corner, yet he had a good sight of it thanks to the wall falling apart and it ended up on the side of the goal he had set up to guard. Not to open old debates, but Maty Ryan would have been pelted for conceding such an effort…

Joel Veltman – 6.71
He is enjoying a real purple patch at the minute. Solid at right back in a four during the first hour and then equally impressive when Graham Potter switched to a three. Some important tackles and interventions when the Saints were on top and the Albion hanging on.

Lewis Dunk – 5.57
Sloppy in possession and that ultimately is why he scores such a low mark. After three colossal performances away at Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester City, this was disappointing.

Adam Webster – 4.43
Always takes an age to get back to his best after injury. Potter tried to negate that this time by drip-feeding him minutes from the bench over the past three matches. His return to the starting XI though was as shaky as normal, including when gifting Oriel Romeu possession for the Southampton equaliser.

Marc Cucurella – 6.00
Mixed afternoon for the wild haired Spaniard. Playing at left back gave him more licence to attack than in recent weeks and he used that instantly to deliver the low cross which Welbeck turned home for the opening goal. Undid some of that good work by getting in a right mess with Dunk, conceding the free kick which Ward-Prowse scored from.

Enock Mwepu – 5.43
Played an underrated part in the Welbeck goal by striding into the box to cause the Chuckle Brothers moment between Forster and Salisu. He continues to look less effective playing in a deeper midfield role compared to when deployed as a number 10.

Moises Caicedo – 6.86
A Premier League home debut for the future Ballon d’Or winner. Not as dominant as he has been in his three appearances on the road but the Amex crowd could see his remarkable engine and ability to read the game, which is reminiscent of an experienced professional rather than a 20-year-old.

Alexis Mac Allister – 7.00
Had a decent effort blocked and spent a lot of time on the ball when Brighton enjoyed their best spell in the first half. Found himself pinned back when the Saints got on top and that allowed him to show the defensive side of his game. Having been signed as a number 10, he is developing into a very tidy all-round midfielder.

DANNY WELBECK – 7.57
Thank you, Danny – not only for topping the Brighton 2-2 Southampton ratings, but for giving us a home goal. In the right place at the right time to fire a loose ball past Forster with 76 seconds on the clock. His outside of the boot switch of play to find Leandro Trossard as the Albion broke to score their second was sublime. Announce Welbeck new contract.

Neal Maupay – 6.14
His first start since missing that penalty in the previous Amex game against Norwich City. Worked as hard as ever, although that led to overenthusiasm at times, including when he was miles offside with a first half header and then gave away a foul when attempting to bundle a loose ball into an open goal from a matter of yards.

Leandro Trossard – 7.00
A dangerous diagonal ball into the box caused Salisu to stretch and divert past Forster for the own goal. He was also heavily involved in creating Pascal Gross’ offside effort which would have won it for Brighton had VAR not stuck its beak in.

Pascal Gross – 6.00
Southampton were getting a lot of joy down the Albion right, so his introduction at right wing back was an utterly bizarre decision from Potter. To be fair to the Brighton manager, he soon corrected it and Gross began thriving through the middle. A good run, clever touch and clinical finish was harshly ruled out for offside. Stockley Park must be the only place in the world where people exist who think Gross is quick enough to get illegally ahead of a defensive line.

Solly March – 4.71
Became a victim of Potter Roulette. Introduced initially on the left, he was then switched to the right when it dawned upon Potter that Gross at wing back in the circumstances the Albion were in was a pretty terrible idea. Never really managed to get into it on a personal level, although Brighton were improved with him on the pitch.

Jeremy Sarmiento – 5.00
No real time to judge. If Brighton are to really see what the young Ecuador forward is made of, he needs more than 10 minutes here and there. With Premier League safety assured, there is no better opportunity to give him appearances of 30 minutes plus over the next five games.

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.