Brighton 2-0 Leeds: FAO Gareth Southgate – Dunk tops ratings again
Gareth Southgate appears to have long made up his mind about Lewis Dunk, but let us hope the England manager has Amazon Prime anyway and caught a glimpse of the Brighton captain’s performance in the 2-0 win over The Leeds United in which Dunk topped the WAB player ratings… again.
Leeds are a decent team going forward and Patrick Bamford is the second-highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League this season. Dunk’s efforts against the 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up meant that Robert Sanchez did not make a save of any note and Bamford was hauled after an hour by Marcelo Bielsa having hardly touched the ball.
Most Brighton fans spent the aftermath raving about that chest back to Sanchez, cool-as-you-like in an intense pressure situation given the Albion were only 1-0 ahead at that point in time. That was just the tip of the iceberg though as Dunk was almost faultless throughout the 90 minutes.
He was not the only one, of course. This was a fine team performance from Brighton, earning a deserved victory that surely means a fifth consecutive season of Premier League football is assured for 2021-22. Here are your full player ratings for Brighton 2-0 The Leeds United.
Robert Sanchez – 7.23
Another clean sheet for his ever growing collection. His busiest period of work came in the first half when he did well dominating the box as Leeds swung over a number of testing deliveries.
Ben White – 8.15
One of his best performances of the season against the club he spent 2019-20 on loan at. Defended well and went on a number of foraging runs forward which Leeds were unable to halt, despite knowing everything about him.
LEWIS DUNK – 9.00
Graham Potter is a manager who hardly ever gets carried away about anything. For him to come out and describe Dunk as sensational afterwards tells you everything you need to know about how well he played on his way to topping the Brighton 2-0 Leeds player ratings.
Adam Webster – 7.38
His attempts to charge forward from the back were not as successful as White’s but defensively, this was a much improved showing on his first two starts since returning from a long layoff. The Albion back line look much better for his less-rusty presence.
Joel Veltman – 7.69
Returned to right wing back after filling in as part of the back three in the 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United when White was suspended. A much better outing in the position that he has looked a natural all season.
Yves Bissouma – 8.23
Arsenal Twitter accounts were saying over the weekend that they expected to pick up Yves Bissouma this summer for £30 million. They must have been watching Mama Mia 2 or something on Prime rather than the Brighton game as this was 90 minutes of midfield dominance from a player who is worth double that.
Pascal Gross – 7.46
Swept home the penalty for the opening goal, a task easier said than done if you happen to be a Brighton player given the Seagulls’ wastefulness in front of goal all season. Threw in a couple of Gross Turns which left Leeds players dumbfounded.
Dan Burn – 7.85
You never know what is going to happen next with him. One minute he was accidentally kneeing an opponent in the head, the next he was trying to clear the ball off the line but only succeeding in smashing it into Webster for a near-own goal. Those two comedy moments aside, he was rock solid at the back, especially during Leeds’ first half aerial bombardment of the Brighton box when he won some hugely important headers and made one crucial block.
Leandro Trossard – 6.62
Created two good chances for himself inside the opening five minutes. He faded after that bright start, although he should have scored when blasting over late in the first half after being presented with what was basically an open goal.
Danny Welbeck – 8.15
Not many players in the Premier League could produce the moment of magic he conjured up for the second goal. That strike seems to have overshadowed the fact that he also won the penalty. To sign a striker of his ilk in the summer, Brighton would have to pay in excess of £30 million. Offering him a new contract is an absolute no-brainer.
Neal Maupay – 6.31
Looked short of confidence when putting his best chance wide in the second half. He still offers a lot to the team with his work rate and his link up play, but with safety virtually secured it will be interesting to see if Potter takes him out of the firing line for the final few matches in favour of finding out what Andi Zeqiri can bring the party.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – 6.38
Another lively cameo in the 10 minutes he was afforded, replacing Trossard immediately after Welbeck had made the game safe for the Albion.
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.
