Wolves 1-4 Brighton: Magic Mitoma and excellent Enciso top ratings
Wolves 1-4 Brighton saw the Albion move to the top of the Premier League table via a devastating display which unsurprisingly returns some seriously high player ratings.
Leading the way were Kaoru Mitoma and Julio Enciso with nothing able to separate the two in the ratings. Mitoma opened the scoring with an outrageous, Diego Maradona-esque goal in which he ran 40 yards with the ball past what felt like 27 Wolves defender before beating Old Gold goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Enciso meanwhile claimed two assists during a blistering nine minute period at the start of the second half in which Brighton scored three times to end the game as a contest.
A telling sign of how good Mitoma and Enciso were is that they finished above brace-bagging Solly March and other goal scorer Pervis Estupinan, who gave yet another barnstorming display from left back. Billy Gilmour too enjoyed a fine afternoon on his return to the starting XI.
Here are your Wolves 1-4 Brighton player ratings.
Jason Steele – 7.71
It might well have been a different game had Steele not managed to divert Fabio Silva’s one-on-one around the post with his foot in the first half when Brighton led by only one and Wolves were on top.
James Milner – 7.14
Not quite as dynamic as on his Albion debut a week earlier against Luton Town but he still put in a shift at right back. Already appears to be developing a good understanding with Solly March.
Adam Webster – 7.00
Webster is normally good for a ricket when he returns from injury. Not so on this occasion, when he made some important interventions and played a big role in helping Brighton build from the back.
Lewis Dunk – 7.00
One intervention late in the first half saw him slide in, win possession and try and turn defence into attack when Wolves had appeared to be breaking dangerously. Was it enough to impress the watching Gareth Southgate ahead of September internationals for England against Ukraine and Scotland?
Pervis Estupinan – 8.71
Any debate about who is the best left back in the Premier League can be ended. Estupinan gave another unreal performance, this time including a well deserved goal after charging into the Wolves box to smash home a Mitoma layoff.
Pascal Gross – 6.43
Picked up a silly yellow card in the very early exchanges which seemed to blunt his effectiveness. The mind boggles at the pAsCaL gRoSS iS A sEt pIeCE meRChAnT crowd returning on Twitter just two months after he was voted a worthy winner of our WAB Player of the Season 2022-23 award.
Billy Gilmour – 9.00
Took over in midfield from Mahmoud Dahoud, making the most of the opportunity with a brilliant and resourceful display. Just one of his passes did not meet its intended target and every ball he played into the final third found a blue and white shirt – including the superb raking pass which sent Enciso clear to set up March for the third Brighton goal.
Solly March – 8.86
His two goals came from really clever finishes and mean March is currently the top scorer in the Premier League. Had you predicted that one year ago, you would have been quickly taken to a secure psychiatric facility.
JULIO ENCISO – 9.14
The noticeable improvement Roberto De Zerbi has brought to Enciso’s decision making means the world is now at his feet. Set up both goals with perfectly weighted, precision passes into the box. The first of those with the outside of his right boot was mesmerising.
KAORU MITOMA – 9.14
What. A. Goal.
Danny Welbeck – 6.00
A little harsh on Welbeck to be bottom of the Wolves 1-4 Brighton ratings as he did a lot of good work seemingly unseen by many. Helped create the space in which Enciso thrived and his directness in running at the Wolves defence played a part in the second and fourth Albion goals.
Joao Pedro – 6.29
FPL managers everywhere were left screaming when the Albion team was announced with Pedro not in it. Some bright moments when he did enter proceedings following an early yellow card.
Joel Veltman – 6.57
De Zerbi followed the same pattern as in the win over Luton by introducing Veltman to give the veteran Milner a rest. Played his part in helping the Albion see out the three points without any dramas.
Evan Ferguson – 6.71
If I were a betting man, I would put money on Ferguson starting against West Ham United at the Amex next Saturday. The teenager has put in two lively cameos from the bench now and although at Molienux he could not match the goal he managed in the win over Luton Town, he might have had a penalty late on.
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.
