Brighton 2-1 Man United: Rock solid Van Hecke leads ratings
Three players dominated the Brighton 2-1 Man United ratings, all of whom have made headlines in recent weeks for different reasons.
Jan Paul van Hecke looks set to receive his first call up to the Dutch national side for the September round of internationals. It is long overdue for a man who improved markedly last season and has started the new campaign in the same manner.
Van Hecke was outstanding against United, topping the player ratings with a performance which meant Jason Steele had very little to do.
Next in the ratings came Joao Pedro, scorer of the Albion’s winner deep into Fergie Time and a general menace all round. Pedro has been tentatively linked with a move away in light of Brighton spending £40 million on Georginio Rutter. To sell last season’s top scorer would be madness.
And speaking of crazy transfers, Billy Gilmour was third in the ratings. The Scottish midfielder only came into the side because of injury to Mats Wieffer, with a move to Napoli expected to be finalised before the transfer window shuts.
If this was Gilmour getting one last, unexpected opportunity to show Hurzeler he should remain at the Amex, then it was grabbed with both hands. Gilmour ran the show in the middle of the park.
Here are your Brighton 2-1 Man United player ratings.
Jason Steele – 7.30
Commanded his area well, distribution was excellent and the save he made from Marcus Rashford in the build up to United’s first half offside goal was world class. Bart Verbruggen is back in training and clearly the better goalkeeper. But – tin hat on – has Steele done anything to warrant being dropped?
Joel Veltman – 7.20
Questions were asked towards the end of last season over whether Veltman’s legs were starting to go. The arrival of Hurzeler and his preference for high-energy, attacking full backs deepened the sense that the Dutchman’s Albion career might be beginning to wind down. Well, those obituaries have come a little prematurely based on the way Veltman pocketed Rashford for the most part.
JAN PAUL VAN HECKE – 8.40
Said it before and we will say it again, Van Hecke is a future Brighton captain. A sliding block at full stretch in front of the North Stand to turn a dangerous ball behind for a corner sticks in the memory.
Lewis Dunk – 6.70
Dunk being outshone by Van Hecke is something we will have to get increasingly used to this season. And that is no bad thing. His experience and leadership shone through, although his best contribution to the win was undoubtedly the chaos which ensued after he got cramp whilst celebrating Pedro’s 95th minute winner.
Jack Hinshelwood – 6.30
Some nice moments but was caught out when United scored. The incoming Ferdi Kadıoglu surely takes over at left back once his big-money move from Fenerbahce is completed.
James Milner – 6.90
Covered so much ground in midfield, which is clearly the position he has to play going forward given last season’s struggles at full back. An early Hurzeler favourite, his experience helped Brighton see out a few tricky moments when United looked to be getting on top.
Billy Gilmour – 7.40
The performance from Gilmour was good enough on its own. Throw in the fact that many players would have been impacted by a two-month long transfer saga involving a move to a foreign country and it becomes even more so. If this was goodbye to Brighton ahead of a transfer to Napoli before the end of the week, then what a goodbye.
Yankubu Minteh – 6.40
A useful reminder that for all the hype and the pre-season goals and assists, Minteh is still only 19-years-old. Inconsistency is to be expected and Erik ten Hag had clearly done his homework on Brighton’s wingers based on how United focussed on defending the flanks.
Joao Pedro – 8.00
Such a cool, calm header placed out of reach of Andre Onana for the winning goal. It did not feel like he did much else. A 95th minute winner alone is worthy of second place in the Brighton 2-1 Man United ratings though.
Kaoru Mitoma – 6.50
Like Minteh, he was kept largely quiet by United. Still managed to claim an assist when his pass across the face of goal was slid in by Danny Welbeck for the Albion opener.
Danny Welbeck – 7.70
Welbz is Dat Guy. Continued his frankly ridiculous scoring record against the club he began his career with via a poacher’s first half finish. Almost added two more in the second half with headers, the first placed straight at Onana and the second crashing against the frame of the goal.
Carlos Baleba – 7.40
Brought new energy and enthusiasm into midfield when introduced for Milner, helping to turn the tide at a time when United were beginning to get on top.
Julio Enciso – 6.90
First appearance since that injury scare at the Olympics. Went close with a trademark thunderbastard from distance.
Simon Adingra – 7.20
Only on the pitch for 10 minutes yet still found time to dink a beautiful cross towards the back post to tee up Pedro for the winner. One goal and one assist now from two substitute appearances highlights the importance of a strong bench and what a deep squad Hurzeler is currently working with.
Yasin Ayari – 6.50
Is there such a thing as an assist for the assist for the assist for the assist? If so, Ayari gets one having been involved in the build up leading to Pedro scoring. An intriguing player who the Amex will hopefully get a good look at on Tuesday night in the League Cup against Creepy Crawley.
Georginio Rutter – 6.60
Took over from Minteh on 89 minutes. Did not have the same impact as Adingra or Ayari.
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.
