Brighton 1-1 West Brom: Player ratings as Albion disappoint against Albion
It was a case of first half good, second half not so good as the great Sven-Göran Eriksson used to say. So, perhaps we should have split our ratings for Brighton 1-1 West Brom into two and allowed fans to give players different scores based on what they did before the break and after the break.
Would Yves Bissouma have been the Seagulls’ second-worst rated player had he been scored on his first half alone? Might Dan Burn have achieved a better rating before his weak header when hopelessly out of position gifted West Brom their equaliser?
And if Adam Lallana had now been substituted on the hour mark, perhaps everyone’s ratings would be a little higher as Brighton might have actually won the game.
There is no rating for Graham Potter either, which is just as well. Potter’s decision to change formation and try and defend the one-goal lead Brighton had been given by Jake Livermore’s comical own goal was disastrous, as was not testing a cumbersome and tiring West Brom defence with the pace of Aaron Connolly or the threat of Danny Welbeck. It was not a good evening for the Brighton boss.
We would give Potter somewhere around a 3, and that is probably be generous. As for his players, here is how they scored in the ratings for Brighton 1-1 West Bromwich Albion.
Maty Ryan – 5.60
Two solid saves including one at full stretch in the second half which looked troubling. His part in Karlan Grant’s goal came under scrutiny from his critics as he appeared to dive out of the way of a shot arrowing down the middle of the goal.
Adam Webster – 6.20
Took the captain’s armband in Lewis Dunk’s absence and gave a decent enough account of himself as the best Brighton defender against West Brom according to the player ratings. He should have done more to cut out Callum Robinson’s cross which led to the equaliser.
Joel Veltman – 6.00
The £900,000 summer signing made his first Premier League start in place of the suspended Dunk. Looked good on the ball as you would expect from a product of Ajax’s academy and one block from a Conor Gallagher shot was vital as it looked to have Ryan beaten.
Dan Burn – 5.40
A marauding run into midfield like a gazelle on crack played a part in setting up the Brighton goal. That was undone though thanks to a combination of a poor clearing header and being caught woefully out of position, giving Robinson the time and space he needed to deliver the ball into the Brighton box for the Baggies’ leveller.
Tariq Lamptey – 6.00
It was his knock across goal that forced Branislav Ivanović into leathering the ball into Livermore’s face for that wonderful own goal. Faded a little in the second half, like most of his teammates.
Ben White – 6.20
Naming a defender in the centre of midfield for a home game against a fellow relegation candidate looked like a negative move on the part of Potter. White had a decent enough game, but you wonder if Brighton might have been better off with a more attack-minded player such as Steve Alzate starting in there.
Yves Bissouma – 5.20
Struggled to make any impression on the game. So important now is he to the Albion that when he underperforms as he did here, it impacts on the whole team.
Solly March – 5.60
Like Bissouma and Lamptey, he had a quiet evening compared to the high standards he has set so far in 2020-21. Might have had an assist if Neal Maupay had brought his shooting boots when his low cross was begging to be turned in by the French striker.
ADAM LALLANA – 7.00
Head and shoulders above any other player on the pitch, it comes as no surprise that he tops the player ratings for Brighton 1-1 West Brom – a whole 0.8 points clear of his nearest rival. Deft touches here, clever flicks there and the ability to thread a ball through the eye of the needle. Picking him up on a free transfer from Liverpool looks a better piece of business with each passing game.
Leandro Trossard – 5.60
Tested Sam Johnstone in the West Brom goal with a couple of distant efforts and was involved in plenty in the first half. Faded in the second however. He hibernated in the winter months last season and Brighton will have to hope that doesn’t happen again, otherwise he will be in danger of becoming known as a Belgian Paul Brooker.
Neal Maupay – 5.00
For a £20 million striker, he has not been clinical enough this season. Should have had at least two goals and the one time he did put the ball in the net, he was unnecessarily offside given the pace advantage he had over the West Brom defence. It was something of a surprise that he wasn’t hauled for either Welbeck or Connolly given the frustrating the evening he was enduring.
Pascal Gross – 4.20
Under normal circumstances, we would be big advocates of the German playmaker coming on. In a game in which you are under pressure and need pace and purpose to pin back the opposition? Absolutely not. A bizarre decision from Potter.
Alexis Mac Allister – 4.40
Showed some nice touches on the ball but Brighton never managed to get him into the sort of shooting position he can make a difference in, as we saw the previous week at Selhurst Park.
Steve Alzate – 4.20
Came on and did very little. Hardly a surprise given that West Brom were well on top by that point.
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.
