Brighton 1-2 Palace: Veltman the only man who will enjoy these ratings
Unless your name is Joel Veltman, you might need want to read these player ratings for Brighton 1-2 Crystal Palace. Yes, it was disappointing to see the Albion lose to their arch rivals in the 94th minute of a game in which they had been totally dominant, but how can we put this – some of your scores were a little harsh…
The result admittedly was shocking. The performance though was not terrible. It was just an all-too-familiar case of Brighton having no clue how to stick the ball in the back of the net to make their 75 percent possession and 25 shots actually count for something.
All except Veltman, of course. His crisp finish with his weaker left foot was the sort of clinical strike that Brighton’s attacking players can only dream of producing on current form.
Perhaps somebody should remind Graham Potter of that time Mark McGhee converted Adam Virgo into a striker in the hope he puts Veltman up top against West Bromwich Albion…
The Flying Dutchman ended up a full 2.51 points ahead of Lewis Dunk in second. That is the biggest gap between top place and the rest we have seen so far this season, a sign of how much better Veltman was than anyone else wearing blue.
So yeah, Veltman aside these player ratings for Brighton 1-2 Crystal Palace are pretty grim.
Robert Sanchez – 4.42
His only contribution all evening was to pick the ball out of the back of the net twice. Dan Burn seemed to cop much of the criticism for the Palace opener, but Jean-Philippe Mateta’s backheel trickling through the legs of a goalkeeper who is already so highly rated was disappointing to see.
Ben White – 3.68
“Is Ben White trying to get us relegated deliberately so he can go back to Leeds next season?” That was the question posed by one overexcited individual on Twitter in the aftermath of Brighton 1-2 Palace as he put his lowest player ratings score of the season so far on the board. Like Sanchez, found himself nutmegged by Mateta for the opener. His decision to needlessly hoof a loose ball 300 miles into the air then presented Palace with possession for their winner.
Lewis Dunk – 5.37
Bit surprised to see him rated Brighton’s second best player on the night given that he was absolutely all over the place when Christian Benteke scored.
Dan Burn – 3.89
Not for the first time this season, a pacey opponent got the better of him down the flank with the result being a goal for the opposition. It was James Justin and Harvey Barnes for Leicester, Adama Traore for Wolves and now Jordan Ayew for Palace who streaked past Burn to cross for Mateta’s cheeky finish.
JOEL VELTMAN – 7.68
Tops the player ratings for the second week running after also excelling in the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa. His goal was of the highest quality and he was a real threat all night down the right flank. Based on recent form, he could yet make a late charge into Player of the Season contention.
Yves Bissouma – 5.26
Tried a trademark effort from long distance in the first half which posed more danger to houses in Woodingdean than Vicente Guaita’s goal. Never really came to dominate the game as he has so often this season.
Pascal Gross – 5.21
We should have known what sort of an evening this was going to end up being when a first half Gross Turn failed to come off for the first time in two-and-a-half years. He was at the heart of most of the good stuff Brighton did and played a part in Veltman’s goal with his willingness to have a shot from outside the box.
Steve Alzate – 4.47
Had a shot blocked before being sacrificed at half time when Potter introduced Danny Welbeck and switched from 3-4-1-2 to 4-4-2. The jury remains out on whether he is long-term solution to filling the hole at left wing back caused by Solly March’s unfortunate injury.
Alexis Mac Allister – 5.00
Had one effort deflected wide but did not do much else. He looks at his best when Brighton break and pass the ball at speed, so coming up against 10 white shirts behind the ball was never likely to bring the best out of him.
Leandro Trossard – 4.95
A non-entity in the first half, he finally appeared in the second when moved out wide. Denied twice in a matter of seconds by excellent Guaita saves during that mad goalmouth scramble. Looked even more like a vampire than normal.
Neal Maupay – 3.74
He either players really well or quite badly, there seems to be no middle ground. Unfortunately, this was one of those off-nights in which his touch was never there and he struggled to get into things. The one chance he did have he placed harmlessly into the body of Guaita, a questionable piece of decision making given he had a glut of teammates in better positions a simple pass away.
Danny Welbeck – 4.84
Gave the attack a focal point and proved a handful for Palace to deal with. Denied a goal by an excellent Guaita save after that game of pinball broke out in the box and then by an even more impressive last ditch block from Gary Cahill.
Adam Lallana – 4.00
Somebody needs to tell him to stop watching the Six Nations as he ballooned two efforts over the bar from good positions. You expect better from a player of his quality.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – 2.89
With Brighton looking for a goal and Aaron Connolly, Andi Zeqiri and Percy Tau all sat on the bench, more than a few eyebrows were raised when Potter introduced the Iranian for the final 10 minutes. His score of 2.89 reflects the fact he did nothing.
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.
