Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United: Decent player ratings defy the booing
Seeing as Brighton were booed at the end of their 0-0 against 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up The Leeds United, you might have expected some pretty disastrous player ratings.
But no. Only one player in Graham Potter’s starting XI scored lower than a six, backing up the opinion that the reaction at full time had little to do with the performance of the players.
Instead, it came from frustration. Frustration that it has been glaringly obvious what the Albion have needed to do in the past four transfer windows and yet haven’t done it, resulting in another 90 minutes of domination without three points to show from it.
No prizes for anyone who has guessed that the bloke who was rated lower than six was Neal Maupay. A couple of astonishing misses from the French forward who had begun the campaign in such blistering form summed up Brighton’s woes completely – as did Potter turning to Jurgen Locadia from the bench as a goal scoring saviour.
Here are your player ratings from Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United.
Robert Sanchez – 7.37
Returned from suspension with arguably his most important display of the season. Three strong saves in the final 20 minutes including one world class stop to claw out a dipping, spinning effort which looked destined for the bottom corner prevented what surely would have been even louder boos had the Albion contrived to lose.
Joel Veltman – 6.63
Replaced Shane Duffy in the starting XI, he was his usual dependable self as part of the back line. That gave Tariq Lamptey the freedom to be an even more attacking force than normal, causing The Leeds United frequent headaches.
Adam Webster – 6.53
Loose in possession at times, most concerningly towards the end when he played Lewis Dunk into trouble and Sanchez had to bail his defence out. Stepped into midfield promisingly during the first half.
Lewis Dunk – 7.00
Had little defending to do as The Leeds United were a non-entity coming forward until the closing stages. Instead concentrated on dictating play from the back, helping to build Albion attacks.
TARIQ LAMPETY – 8.42
Is there any point even holding our WAB November Player of the Month vote? Lamptey topping the Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United player ratings means that he has been scored as the best Albion player in all three November matches. This was his finest performance of the lot, especially in the first half. He created more opportunities than the other 21 players on the pitch combined, caused Junior Firpo to be booked inside of eight minutes and then hauled at half time as FIFA World Coach of the Year 2020 candidate Marcelo Bielsa sought a way to cope. Outstanding.
Yves Bissouma – 7.05
A quiet game by his normal high standards. That is no slight on him, but more a reflection of the fact that the Albion were so dominant that they did not really need a defensive midfield player breaking up opposition attacks because there weren’t any.
Pascal Gross – 6.16
If somebody set up a Pascal Gross Fan Club, WAB would be at the front of the queue to join. Even we have to admit that he has been below par in recent weeks, however. His best piece of work came when outpacing a The Leeds United player into the box and brilliantly teeing up Jakub Moder to sky over the bar.
Jakub Moder – 7.00
A clinical finisher when he plays for Poland, it sums up the Albion’s wretched form in front of goal that when he swaps national team for Premier League, he becomes another who cannot hit a cow’s arse with a banjo. Missed two glorious opportunities after doing so well to get into the position to shoot in the first place.
Marc Cucurella – 7.79
The engine he has to get up and down that left flank – and even pop up in central areas when required to defensively – is astonishing. Dove tailed superbly with Lamptey on the other side of the pitch. You have to wonder how many goals Glenn Murray would have notched with such service from out wide. My guess is a hat-trick every week.
Leandro Trossard – 7.74
Having Maupay as the focal point of the attack ahead of him allowed Trossard to drop into that space between defence and midfield to far greater impact than when he is used as a false nine. Struck the post and weaved his way numerous times through The Leeds United’s back line to create chances.
Neal Maupay – 5.00
A harsh score perhaps for the lowest rated player in Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United. The Albion look a much bigger threat when he is in the starting XI, linking play and stretching defences. Strikers though are judged on goals and you would expect Craig Davies to score the two opportunities he missed.
Jurgen Locadia – 3.74
The lowest player rating of the season is on the board and it will come as no surprise that it is DJ Jurgen Locadia who recorded it. Rolled a harmless scuff to Illan Meslier in the The Leeds United goal. His introduction in place of Maupay for 20 minutes was surely Potter’s way of telling Bloom to sign a striker, otherwise we are relying on a bloke who posts photos on Instagram of himself cooking his dinner to win matches from the bench.
Solly March – 6.47
Only on the pitch for 15 minutes but still managed to make two great chances cutting in from the right. The first was deflected over the bar and the second rattled the post.
Jeremy Sarmiento – 6.26
A Premier League debut for the teenage Ecuadorian international. One purposeful run could only be halted by a The Leeds United player pulling him back. His willingness to get at defenders makes him a different option to the Albion’s other forwards, but it is still asking a hell of a lot for a 19-year-old to come in and be the source of goals Brighton so desperately need.
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.
