Brighton 3-1 Southampton: Fantastic Ferguson tops ratings
There was something rather fitting about Evan Ferguson being the player who fired Brighton to a 3-1 win over Southampton, securing European football and top spot in the player ratings in the process.
Ferguson is the leading light of a bright new future. The Albion have many talented players under 21 on their books, but he has the potential to be the best of the lot having already established himself as a regular Premier League scorer at the age of 18.
The Saints had no answer to Ferguson and his first half brace. You suspect that clubs in the Europa League next season are going to have similar issues coping with his ability to score every type of goal imaginable, his intelligence and the way he effortlessly moves around the pitch.
Almost at the other end of the age and experience scale sits the man who finished just behind Ferguson in the Brighton 3-1 Southampton ratings.
Pascal Gross has done more than most to establish the Seagulls in the top flight, and so there could have been no better candidate to score the third and final goal which confirmed Brighton’s history making top six finish.
This was a day that will live long in the memory. Here are your player ratings.
Jason Steele – 7.33
Other than a brief 10 minute period early in the second half when Southampton were on top, his goal was rarely threatened. Conceded twice during that spell , although thankfully one was ruled out by VAR for a mighty tight offside decision.
Joel Veltman – 7.58
Something of a surprise return from injury for the dependable Dutchman. The Albion defence looked a lot more solid with him back in the XI, highlighting that Brighton need to do all they can to tie him down to a new contract with his current deal set to expire this summer.
Lewis Dunk – 8.00
A comfortable afternoon for the Brighton skipper, whose roar of triumph as the Seagulls soared into Europe will surely become an iconic image in the club’s history. A good weekend was completed when rumours began to swirl that he could be in line for an England recall four-and-a-half years after his one and only international appearance thus far.
Levi Colwill – 7.67
Whisper it quietly, but as a 19-year-old left footed centre back with the world his oyster, Colwill receiving England recognition next move would make more sense than Dunk. The lack of pressure exerted by Southampton enabled him to show his extensive passing range.
Pervis Estupinan – 7.67
Contained the threat of Theo Walcott relatively well, although he was caught out of position when the veteran scored that offside goal. You accept that will happen though because of the attacking threat he provides. There were plenty of good moments in that regard as he doubled up with Kaoru Mitoma.
Moises Caicedo – 7.50
Having been totally outplayed at Newcastle United on Thursday night, Caicedo’s return to the middle of the park led to Brighton dominating proceedings. Did a disciplined job sitting in front of the back four and that allowed Gross to push forward more with devastating consequences.
Pascal Gross – 8.75
Southampton were on top and the Amex becoming evidently nervous when his crisp and clinical strike made it 3-1 to Brighton. That ended any hopes of a Saints comeback. Went onto say during the lap of honour after the final whistle that it was the greatest day in his football life. What a man.
Julio Enciso – 6.92
For all his promise, this 45 minutes reminded everyone that Enciso is still young, raw and inconsistent. Every other touch seemed to result in a Saints throw, leading to Roberto De Zerbi hauling him at the break with the lowest ratings score of the starting XI in Brighton 3-1 Southampton.
Alexis Mac Allister – 8.00
At the heart of most of the good things Brighton did starting back at number 10. That included feeding Ferguson for the opening goal and coming close to breaking the net with a ferocious volley which lifted just a little too high over the bar.
Kaoru Mitoma – 7.92
Squandered a gilt-edged one-on-one chance midway through the first half when chipping the ball against the post. Made up for that miss by setting up Ferguson’s second with a run full of pace, directness and physicality finished with a delightful outside of the right boot pass straight into the path of the Irish forward.
EVAN FERGUSON – 9.08
Having seen a few of his teammates try and caress the ball past Alex McCarthy with no success, Ferguson opted to twat his first sight of goal as hard as possible. That meant it had too much power for the Saints goalkeeper. His second was a more composed, first time finish. Without his brace, this could have been a very different afternoon.
Facundo Buonanotte – 6.83
An improvement on Enciso which was not only good for Brighton but also Buonanotte’s confidence after a couple of difficult matches.
Danny Welbeck – 6.75
De Zerbi turned to Welbeck when Southampton were on top in the hope he would help the Seagulls retain the ball and stretch the visiting defence. It was a plan which worked to perfection with Dat Guy coming close to adding a fourth late on.
Deniz Undav – 6.92
Worked tirelessly, linked the play well and got himself into some decent positions. He probably does not want the season to end with his confidence levels improving every week following a pretty difficult first eight months in England.
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.
