Brighton 2-1 Leicester: Cucurella caps home debut with top spot in ratings

There were some interesting names receiving scores in our Brighton 2-1 Leicester player ratings. The Foxes’ Harvey Barnes was the recipient of several 10/10s for managing to get himself into an offside position not once, but twice in identical style to rule out two goals would have made this a very different result.

The linesman in front of the West Stand came in for praise, too. He spotted Barnes interfering with Robert Sanchez and so raised his flag. The fact that both of these decisions were correct was then backed up by VAR, doing exactly what it is supposed to do in confirming that the officials have got things right.

A point that went over the head of Leicester fans and pundits who were incredulous that little old Brighton had knocked off the FA Cup holders and a side who have been in top four contention over the past two seasons.

As for the ratings of those players wearing blue and white in Brighton 2-1 Leicester, there was one standout performer. Marc Cucurella marked his home debut with a barnstorming performance up and down the left wing, bringing pace and natural width which the Albion have long been crying out for.

Early days it may be, but he already looks like quite the bargain at £15 million. Here is how Cucurella and the rest of the Albion scored in the Brighton 2-1 Leicester player ratings.

Robert Sanchez – 7.31
His best game of the season. Tipped one over in spectacular style late on and confidently claimed most aerial balls into the box. One such catch in the first half from a Leicester corner resulted in the Albion launching a quick counter. Brendan Rodgers decided to prevent that happening by sticking Barnes on Sanchez for every second half corner, and we all know what that led to.

Joel Veltman – 7.50
A sturdy defensive showing on a rare opportunity to play in his strongest position as a more central defender. Good to see him striding forward to join attacks in the first half, including when teeing up a chance for Solly March.

Shane Duffy – 7.88
His header struck the arm of Jannik Vestergaard to earn Brighton their opening goal from the penalty spot. Lots of blocks and tackles but as several people pointed out when awarding their scores, it was Duffy who got caught out by the legal Leicester goal and whose marking was a little slapdash from the two disallowed. That seemed to go under the radar a little.

Lewis Dunk – 7.75
We are still yet to see a true Lewis Dunk performance this season, but what does it tell you about how good Brighton are if they are winning games without needing their captain to be at his very best? Did a decent job keeping Jamie Vardy quiet.

Solly March – 7.13
There is a suspicion that he is not quite as effective on the right as he is on the left. On this occasion, his defensive abilities were very much needed on the right against the dangerous Barnes, especially in light of how Everton’s wide players had tormented Brighton last time out at the Amex. That Barnes’ only contribution was to cause two goals to be ruled out tells you what a good job March did.

Yves Bissouma – 7.44
A first half injury left him struggling to walk and Enock Mwepu was stripped and ready to replace him. That he got through 35 minutes of the second half before finally walking off was a surprise, but it also meant a slightly subdued performance. Fingers crossed whatever the problem was is not that serious, nor that he has aggravated it further by carrying on.

Adam Lallana – 7.94
Should have scored when he foxtrotted his way into the box, only to blast over the goal in the first half. The role his leadership and experience played whilst sitting on the toes of the back line when the closing stages resembled the Alamo cannot be understated, especially as most of his teammates seemed determined to give the ball to Leicester on the rare occasions a grey shirt was not in possession.

MARC CUCURELLA – 8.81
He eats paella, he drinks Estrella, his hair is f**king massive. A whirlwind on the left with an engine that allows him to defend one minute and pop up in the opposition half the next. When Potter gets the chance to deploy him in tandem with Tariq Lamptey down the other flank, it will be quite the sight.

Leandro Trossard – 8.25
Delivered a free kick straight onto the head of Danny Welbeck for the Albion’s second which Pascal Gross would have been proud of. Floated around in the space between Leicester’s defence and midfield, meaning he had plenty of time on the ball. When he did receive possession, it was almost like it was glued to him.

Danny Welbeck – 7.81
Dat Guy got himself up and running for the season with a beautiful flicked header from Trossard’s free kick. A willing runner, he showed his intelligence when managing to draw a couple of fouls from Leicester defenders in positions where there was no real need to risk an illegal tackle.

Neal Maupay – 7.81
Another game where he displayed far more confidence and maturity than we saw at any stage last season. There was a lot of pressure on his shoulders for the penalty, what with Kasper Schmeichel having saved from him at the King Power two seasons ago. Not even Schmeichel’s mind games could put Maupay off this time however, the goal being the least he deserved from a hard working performance.

Enock Mwepu – 5.00
Gave the ball away with frightening regularity as he struggled with the intensity of the game. Not something to be unduly concerned about; he would not be the first midfielder to need time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League. See Bissouma for a classic example, who had to wait 18 months before becoming a regular.

Dan Burn – 6.81
Introduced to help man the barricades as Leicester poured forward in the final 30 minutes looking for a way back into the game. He played his part in ensuring that three points stayed in Sussex.

Jakub Moder – 6.75
Came on at a point when Brighton were handing the ball to Leicester with every other pass. Put his foot on it and helped exert a little more control in an important cameo.

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.