AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton: Dunk goes from mad red to top of ratings
Well, that was an interesting few days for Lewis Dunk. On Saturday, he was shown a straight red for calling Anthony Taylor a bald prick/bellend. Fast forward to Thursday and Dunk was magnificent in AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton, topping the player ratings as the Albion committed a robbery in the Greek capital.
Brighton have become famed for their vibrant attacking football under Roberto De Zerbi. The performance they delivered at the Opap Arena was more like something out of the Mark McGhee playbook.
This explains why the best players according to the ratings were the back four and goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. The Albion defended manfully, particularly in a first half during which their goal led a mighty charmed life.
But that impressive work of Verbruggen, Dunk, Joel Veltman, Igor Julio and Jack Hinshelwood set the stage for Joao Pedro to score the only goal of the game.
Scarcely deserved, but who cares? The three points guaranteed Brighton will play Europa League football beyond Christmas – and the Albion have been on the end of their fair share of daylight robberies over the past four seasons. It actually feels quite nice for the boot to be on the other foot.
Here are your AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton player ratings.
Bart Verbruggen – 7.71
A night when the Albion needed their best shot stopper between the posts. Made at least three crucial saves when Brighton were under the cosh in the first half, without which AEK would have been out of sight. He has proven that he should be number one from this point on… so expect to see Jason Steele back in goal for the trip to Chelsea on Sunday.
Joel Veltman – 7.00
Not able to get forward as much as Roberto De Zerbi likes his full backs to do but that did not matter in the circumstances. Solid defending and he managed to draw the foul which led to the dangerous Mijat Gacinovic seeing red midway through the second half.
LEWIS DUNK – 8.57
A captain’s performance and exactly what the doctor ordered after his misdemeanour at the City Ground. Threw himself in front of countless AEK shots, including one lunging last ditch block which just about managed to divert an effort destined to beat Verbruggen onto the post. You could see how much it meant to him at the full time whistle.
Igor Julio – 8.14
Igor! Igor! Igor! Dunk took most of the headlines but his Brazilian partner was every bit as important to the clean sheet. Calm under pressure and even when Brighton were struggling to get out of their own half, he found a way to carry the ball past AEK players on exciting yet terrifying charges forward.
Jack Hinshelwood – 7.43
By far and away the best performance of his fledgling career. How many 18-year-olds could look so at home making their first European start out-of-position at left back in such an intimidating atmosphere? Deserves further opportunities based on this.
Pascal Gross – 6.00
Neither of the Albion’s two holding midfield players managed to have much impact because of the way the game went. Such is Der Kaiser’s importance to how Brighton move the ball, it was no surprise to see their possession percentage below 50 percent with him struggling.
Billy Gilmour – 6.14
Gilmour presumably gets a score 0.14 higher than Gross in the AEK 0-1 Brighton ratings for his ambitious attempt to score with a scissor kick in the second half.
Simon Adingra – 6.71
On the rare occasions the Albion managed to get the ball to Adingra, he looked threatening. Could have racked up two second half assists; the first when he went for goal when squaring was a better option. The second being a low cross cleared by AEK just before it reached Evan Ferguson for a tap in at the back post.
Joao Pedro – 7.00
No way Pedro! Spent most of the 90 minutes trying stupid flicks which squandered possession. He is though the man for the big Europa League moments, winning a penalty against AEK for the third time this season and converting a penalty against AEK for the third time this season.
Kaoru Mitoma – 5.43
Did not look 100 percent fit on his return from injury, leading to him being the lowest scoring player in the AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton ratings. On the positive side, he was given a rest for the last 20 minutes after being replaced by Mahmoud Dahoud.
Evan Ferguson – 5.71
The normally clinical Ferguson had left his shooting boots (and head) at home. Missed three opportunities in the Albion’s fast start prior to AEK getting on top. Then showed home goalkeeper Cican Stankovic too much of the ball in a second half one-on-one opportunity.
Mahmoud Dahoud – 6.29
Dahoud seemed a nailed-on starter given he is in the midst of a three game domestic ban and so fresher than either Gross or Gilmour. That red card against Sheffield United must have seriously pissed off De Zerbi as he only afforded the German midfielder the final 20.
James Milner – 6.29
Introducing his experience at left back and pushing Hinshelwood in midfield helped Brighton navigate the last 15 minutes.
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.
