Brighton 1-1 West Ham: Ratings show Welbeck deserves a new contract
Announce Dat Guy Welbz new contract. Once again, it was Danny Welbeck who scored the Brighton goal and subsequently topped the player ratings, this time as the Albion drew 1-1 at home with West Ham United in a game severely lacking in entertainment.
Welbeck’s 84th minute strike was his sixth goal from open play of the season, more than any other Brighton player. It is his best total since the 2013-14 campaign and proof that the Albion’s often-maligned medical team have done an excellent job in getting him back to fitness after several testing years.
None of Brighton’s other strikers come remotely close to matching the finishing ability of Welbeck. For that reason, the Albion must do all they can to keep him at the Amex for next season – allowing a player of his quality to slip through the club’s fingers would be reckless insanity.
Dat Guy was not the only one with something to prove against West Ham. Alireza Jahanbakhsh made a rare start, Percy Tau got his first Premier League minutes since January and Steve Alzate was recalled after a couple of months in the wilderness.
All three impressed, doing their case for further inclusion in the final two matches of the 2020-21 season no harm. Here are your full player ratings from Brighton 1-1 West Ham.
Robert Sanchez – 6.33
He must be thinking this Premier League goalkeeping lark is easy as it was another quiet evening. Nothing he could do about the goal with his only other action of note being a decent stop from Tomáš Souček in a first half which was otherwise devoid of entertainment.
Ben White – 6.50
Made some very important blocks, including one which was world class from a Pablo Fornals effort. Got in a bit of a muddle with Adam Webster for the West Ham equaliser, but even so he should have caught the eye of the watching Gareth Southgate who had inexplicably chosen the one week Lewis Dunk is suspended to attend a Brighton game.
Adam Webster – 6.08
Not entirely convincing taking over from Dunk as the central defender in the Albion’s back three. He still looks a little rusty following injury despite this being his fifth game back after two months on the shelf.
Dan Burn – 6.83
The highest scoring defender in the Brighton 1-1 West Ham player ratings after being given a rare opportunity to play in his natural position of centre back. Defended well and played some delightful balls forward, especially the beautiful David Beckham-esque cross field pass to send Alireza Jahanbakhsh away for what was the Albion’s best chance of the game aside from the goal.
Pascal Gross – 6.17
What a bloody delight to see the German made Der Kapitan for the day as a reward for an excellent second half of the season. Unfortunately, he marked the occasion with a bit of a below par performance, although we did get to see one lovely Gross Turn.
Yves Bissouma – 6.83
Another positive performance from the most in-demand player in the Premier League. That was despite the fact he picked up an early booking for crunching Jesse Lingard, after which he appeared to be holding himself back a little for fear of missing Manchester City on Tuesday night through suspension. Nobody could blame him for that as the City game offers him an audition in front of Pep Guardiola…
Steve Alzate – 6.50
The lesser spotted Alzate does exist and he marked his recall with a tidy midfield showing. A little unlucky to be hauled after just over an hour but Brighton were desperately crying out for the invention and creativity of Adam Lallana and so Alzate was the most obvious sacrificial lamb.
Jakub Moder – 6.08
It was disappointing to see the Polish international used at left wing back given that there was a very obvious chance to give him an opportunity in central midfield. A quiet evening.
Leandro Trossard – 6.00
Speaking of quiet evenings, Premier League March 2021 Player of the Month contender Leandro Trossard once again showed his frustratingly inconsistency by struggling to make much impression. Those heady days of March seem miles away right now.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – 6.83
One of those nights where you are reminded that somewhere in Prince Ali might hide a Premier League standard footballer. Tested Lukasz Fabianski on a couple of occasions and was unlucky not to open the scoring when beating the West Ham goalkeeper to Burn’s ball over the top, only to see his volley drop agonisingly the wrong side of the far post.
DANNY WELBECK – 7.50
We filled the introduction of our Brighton 1-1 West Ham player ratings with plenty of Welbeck propaganda. Whilst the goal was the highlight – the perfectly timed run, the calm and composed dinked finish – he caused the Irons problems all night. The Albion have to do their utmost to secure his future as there will be no shortage of interested parties when his contract expires in a little over six weeks time.
Adam Lallana – 6.00
Unusually, he struggled to make much impact on the game once replacing Alzate. He did though play a part in the goal, finding Tau with a clever pass into midfield.
Percy Tau – 6.67
In the name of Percy Tau, amen! The Lion of Judah claimed his first Premier League assist, spotting a gap in the West Ham defence and slipping a perfect through ball to Welbeck who applied the finish. A good cameo to show everyone what he is about after not playing a minute of top flight football since January.
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.
