Brighton 1-1 Burnley: Gross everywhere to top ratings once again
Left back. Right back. Left midfield. Right midfield. Number 10. It did not matter where Pascal Gross was asked to play in Brighton 1-1 Burnley, he was never anything less than magnificent on his way to topping the player ratings.
On what was a disappointing afternoon in terms of result, Der Kaiser was a shining light with another vintage display capped off with an assist for the Albion equaliser.
Roberto De Zerbi summed things up when asked about Gross afterwards, saying: “I would like to speak with his mother and father to see if there is another Pascal Gross or another Gross anywhere.”
Two Pascals in one team? That much talent, creativity and versatility? Brighton & Hove Albion would saunter to the Premier League title if that were the case.
The one Gross Brighton do currently have was the only player to score an eight or above. Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma also impressed as the Albion ended up playing a front five in the final 30 minutes with the aim being to get their two wingers on the ball as much as possible.
Here are your Brighton 1-1 Burnley player ratings.
Bart Verbruggen – 6.33
Recalled in place of Jason Steele as De Zerbi continued his goalkeeper rotation. Important double save in the second half but looked like he should have done better with the Burnley goal even though it took a deflection off James Milner.
PASCAL GROSS – 8.00
Where do you even start? The Gross Turn followed by flighted cross to the back post headed in by Adingra was sublime. Every time Der Kaiser got on the ball you felt like something would happen – even when he was at full back – and he could have scored twice himself were it not for the brilliance of James Trafford.
Jan Paul van Hecke – 6.75
A good block early on set the tone for a pretty solid showing. Almost scored an outrageous acrobatic header in the first half which was inches past the post.
Lewis Dunk – 6.75
Back from suspension and managed to get through this game without calling the referee bald which was a step forward from his last Premier League outing at Forest a fortnight ago.
James Milner – 5.75
Not his best match defensively as Jay Rodriguez was able to escape a couple of times. Came close to scoring his first Albion goal though, drawing a good save low down from Trafford in the first half.
Carlos Baleba – 5.75
Asked to drop in as a third centre back between Van Hecke and Dunk, allowing Milner and Gross to push a long way forward from their full back positions in the first half. It was an interesting tactic and judging by Baleba’s low score here and some of the comments seen on Twitter, one which has split opinion.
Mahmoud Dahoud – 4.33
Back from suspension and managed to get through this game without stamping on an opponent’s leg which was a step forward from his last Premier League outing against Sheffield United four weeks ago.
Simon Adingra – 7.50
A real livewire down the flank. Scored the equaliser via a towering header, had two other opportunities to notch and set up his fair share of chances for his teammates to finish second to Gross in the Brighton 1-1 Burnley player ratings.
Adam Lallana – 4.58
Went through a spell towards the end of the first half when he seemed to forget Brighton were playing in blue and white stripes. Withdrawn at the interval.
Joao Pedro – 6.08
Starting Pedro on the left did not really work. Better in the second half when moved into a more central position after De Zerbi went berserk with his 2-3-5 formation.
Evan Ferguson – 5.33
Some nice layoffs created first half shooting chances for Milner and Dahoud. But whilst his link up play was good, he never managed to test Trafford himself with the ball constantly getting stuck under his feet in the box.
Kaoru Mitoma – 7.08
Gave Burnley something very different to think about following his half time introduction. Several of his runs caused problems and led to opportunities which Brighton could not quite take advantage of.
Billy Gilmour – 6.92
An all-action display following his introduction. He sat diligently in front of an Albion defence consisting of ever-decreasing numbers and even managed to get forward for a couple of half chances of his own.
Igor Julio – 6.83
Igor! Igor! Igor! Came on as part of a defensive reshuffle but did little defending, instead looking to run the ball forward at every opportunity. Such a fun and entertaining player to watch.
Jack Hinshelwood – 6.58
Should we assume that young Hinshelwood only wants to score headers? After his winner against Brentford, he came close to repeating the trick twice late on with two more headed efforts.
Facundo Buonanotte – 5.92
Came on five minutes before the end and might have made himself a hero had he not stumbled when the ball found its way to him in the box.
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.
