Man United 1-2 Brighton: Pascal scores Gross in player ratings
Pascal Gross, we want you to stay. And thank Christ he did. Der Kaiser was the Albion match winner in Manchester United 1-2 Brighton with a two-goal performance that put him top of the first player ratings of 2022-23.
Most Germans love beer and bratwurst. Gross loves scoring past United. His brace took him onto six goals in six years when facing the Red Devils, the best record of any midfielder against United since Sky Sports invented football in 1992.
Like Gross, Danny Welbeck seems to thrive when playing United. He was just behind Gross in the ratings with Manchester United super fan Moises Caicedo in third.
Do you wonder if the powers that be at Old Trafford regret Dat Guy no longer being their player? Or not trying harder to sign Caicedo when they had the chance in January 2021?
To be fair, every one of the Brighton starting XI would get into United’s side based on what we saw at the Theatre of Dreams.
That means some big scores across the board in the Man United 1-2 Brighton player ratings.
Robert Sanchez – 6.58
A mixed bag. Produced an outstanding one-on-one save from Marcus Rashford before the assistant referee raised his flag for offside. Unconvincing when United did score in not making his punch clear from a corner. He fumbled a couple of shots after that, including one Joel Veltman had to be alert to hack away before a red shirt could pounce.
Joel Veltman – 7.42
Colour me shocked, it is Mr 7/10 with another 7/10. Solid as always as part of a back three that coped relatively easily with United lining up using Christian Eriksen as a false nine.
Lewis Dunk – 7.95
The late sliding block in the final few minutes from Lisandro Martinez was match-winning. He had to time it right, then avoid handling as he went to ground and the ball cannoned into his back. Even more impressive was that he produced a textbook and totally unnecessary backwards roll to return to his feet.
Adam Webster – 7.42
Having endured an injury hit 2021-22, he will be hoping to stay fit this time around and potentially catch the eye of Gareth Southgate again. The England manager was in the Old Trafford crowd and would have been impressed by an important block to frustrate substitute Cristiano Ronaldo.
Solly March – 7.37
Ended last season in possession of the right wing back shirt and has maintained it ahead of Tariq Lamptey coming into the new campaign. It was March’s shot parried by David De Gea that presented Gross with the second goal. Brighton constantly looking to quickly find him, Welbeck and Leandro Trossard was a tactic United struggled with in the first half.
Adam Lallana – 7.84
A few eyebrows were raised when Graham Potter selected a midfield containing Lallana and Gross. Would it contain enough pace to both hurt United and deal with their speed merchants through the middle? Yes was the answer with Lallana giving a vintage display of control and clever passing.
Moises Caicedo – 8.53
Since Moises Caicedo made his first Premier League start, Brighton have lost to only Manchester City. He sat in front of the back three, helped turnover possession and then looked to get the Albion on the front foot. Sounds very much like a certain Yves Bissouma, don’t you think?
PASCAL GROSS – 8.63
Not only did he put himself in the right place at the right time to score twice, but he was also involved in the build up to both goals before bursting into the box. His deserved place at the top of the Man United 1-2 Brighton player ratings proved one thing: Man United have a sehr Gross problem when it comes to Pascal.
Leandro Trossard – 8.00
A very different type of left wing back to the departed Marc Cucurella or even March should he ever revert back from the right side. Almost scored within 60 seconds after pressing Diogo Dalot and was involved in both goals. His beautifully weighted 20 yard forward pass split the United defence for the first and it was his cheeky backheel at left back which enabled the Albion to break for the second.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7.63
One of his quieter games which made you wonder whether he was still feeling the injury he picked up in the 5-1 pre-season friendly win over Espanyol a week ago. Got the contendership for the Own Goal of the Season award up and running early by slicing into the empty net following Sanchez’s flap and Harry Maguire’s bundle.
Danny Welbeck – 8.58
Welbz is Dat Guy. A magnificent display that left him just 0.05 points behind Gross in the Man United 1-2 Brighton player ratings. Set up the first goal with a low cross drilled across the box and should have had a penalty when barged over in the area by Martinez. He allowed the Albion to lengthen their passing much to the surprise of Erik Ten Hag and brought others into the game brilliantly.
Tariq Lamptey – 6.84
Potter introduced him knowing that with United pouring forward in search of an equaliser, Lamptey could provide a threat on the counter with his pace. Won an important free kick deep in the United half with some wing wizardry towards the end.
Enock Mwepu – 6.84
There were times last season when he came off the bench and looked like he had never played football in his life. No such issues at Old Trafford. He was straight into the game and doing an underrated job in manning the midfield trenches to protect the back three.
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.
