Stoke 2-4 Brighton: Gross assists his way to top of ratings

The Bet365 Stadium was once cited as the ultimate question for the greatest players in the world. “Yeah, but can they do it on a cold day in Stoke?” For Pascal Gross, it was just another afternoon at the office as he topped the Stoke City 2-4 Brighton player ratings.

Two assists for goals by Lewis Dunk and Joao Pedro’s first. An assist for the assist when Pedro added his second. This was a vintage display from Der Kaiser which helped the Albion overcome a potential banana skin of a tie and make safe progress into the fourth round of the competition.

Having weathered something of a first half Potters storm, the Albion grew into the game as it wore on. Overall, it was an all-round good team display – reflected in all but two of the starting XI scoring sevens and above.

Here are your Stoke City 2-4 Brighton player ratings.

Bart Verbruggen – 7.00
Not much he could do about either of the Stoke goals. His best save of the afternoon was a flying one-handed stop in the second half which unfortunately turned out to be a little pointless as Lewis Dunk conceded a penalty straight from the resulting corner.

Jack Hinshelwood – 7.33
Played more as a right winger as Roberto De Zerbi opted for a very fluid version of his normal 4-2-3-1 formation. Hugged the touchline as the Albion looked to stretch Stoke, offering a fair amount going forward.

Jan Paul van Hecke – 7.17
Not the highest score but the sort of game we absolutely love here at WAB Towers. Booked after nine minutes. Scored an own goal after 11. Then surged 70 yards up the pitch from centre back with Brighton defending a one-goal lead to become the second-furthest Albion player forward and set up Pedro for the Seagulls’ fourth of the afternoon.

Lewis Dunk – 7.33
His powerful header at the back post from a pinpoint Gross delivery gave Brighton the lead for the first time. There are two schools of thought over the penalty he gave away. One – it was unlucky as the ball hit his arm from point blank range. Two – if he stopped raising his arms when defending aerial balls into the box, it would not happen in the first place.

Pervis Estupinan – 7.67
Tucked in as a third centre back at times as part of that aforementioned fluid formation. That blunted his attacking output… and yet he was still able to score an absolute rocket from outside the box for the second time in three matches. His return to fitness will be massive for the Albion in the second half of the season.

PASCAL GROSS – 8.67
Delivered the pinpoint cross which Dunk headed home for the Seagulls’ second. Delivered the pinpoint cross which Pedro headed home for the Seagulls’ third. Played the through ball which sent Van Hecke rampaging clear to set up Pedro for the Seagulls’ fourth. Was then spotted getting the train home from Stoke-on-Trent station afterwards, apparently having been granted a few days off to go on a stag do. He very much deserves several nice kellerbiers whilst away. What a player.

Billy Gilmour – 7.33
Crisp and precise with his passing throughout. Claimed an assist for the Estupinan goal with a really clever header into the path of the Ecuadorian left back when neither the Potters not Brighton could get control of the ball.

Facundo Buonanotte – 6.33
One of only two players in the starting XI to score below a seven in the Stoke 2-4 Brighton player ratings. Harsh perhaps as he started the game one of the brighter Albion players, fading slightly after a silly yellow card.

Joao Pedro – 8.50
No way Pedro! Scoring twice but having to settle for second place in the ratings highlights just how good Gross was. A brilliant header gave him his first and a clinical finish from that lovely sweeping Van Hecke pass his second. Still, that was not quite enough to please De Zerbi, who said afterwards: “He is improving but I would like him to start the game in the beginning not in the second half.” Blimey.

Jakub Moder – 7.00
Did not look particularly at home on the left, which should not come as a surprise as he is hardly the type of fast, direct winger who thrives in that area playing DeZerbiBall. But this was not a game to focus on performance levels for Moder; it was just good to see him making his first start in 21 months after that horrible ACL injury.

Evan Ferguson – 5.83
Plenty of honest endeavour but it is just not happening for him at the moment in front of goal. The 16 day winter break comes at a good time as he has been asked to play a lot of football for a 19-year-old through the autumn when Danny Welbeck was ruled out and with no other out-and-out centre forwards in the squad.

Danny Welbeck – 5.17
Caused more problems to Stoke than Ferguson managed when introduced from the bench but squandered an opportunity you expect Billy Paynter to score – let alone a striker of his quality.

Adam Webster – 6.00
After his solid 70-odd minutes in the 0-0 draw at West Ham, this was another decent showing as his introduction saw the Albion switch to a more orthodox back three.

Carlos Baleba – 5.83
Something of a surprise Baleba did not start. That is a sign though of how seriously De Zerbi is taking the FA Cup this season.

Adam Lallana – 5.83
Brought on to help Brighton see the game out after Pedro had secured the two-goal lead.

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.