Brighton 4-0 Man United: Outstanding performance leads to record ratings
It will come as a shock to absolutely nobody to learn that the WAB Player Ratings for Brighton 4-0 Man United were the highest we have ever recorded.
Nobody in the starting XI scored below an 8.41, and even that mark seemed harsh on Solly March. Marc Cucurella led the way – just – from Pascal Gross, with those men achieving the two highest ratings of the season so far.
What else is there to say? The Albion blew away the most famous club in English football in what ranks as one of the greatest results in Brighton’s 121 year existence.
It might have even been more as the Seagulls rattled the post and David De Gea made a couple of decent stops to keep the score down.
Ralf Rangnick – who once went to the University of Sussex and played for Southwick in the County League – also threw on Harry Maguire just after United fell four behind in an exercise of damage limitation.
Let that sink in for a minute – an England international centre back coming off the bench for the final 30 minutes to ensure Manchester United did not ship five, six or seven against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Without any further ado, here are those record-breaking Brighton 4-0 Man United player ratings.
Robert Sanchez – 9.27
Saves-wise, he did not have much to do until the last half hour when United improved from abysmal to woeful. He pulled off three important saves in that period and confidently claimed some high balls into the box. After a few months of iffy distribution, that side of this game was also back to his best – most notably with the long, raking pass down the pitch in the build up to the third goal.
Joel Veltman – 9.32
Some vital interventions on both Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, neither of whom were able to have much of an impression on the game because of the dependable Dutchman. Veltman rounded off an excellent weekend by treating his Instagram followers to a live stream of him rescuing a seagull which had become stuck in his chimney on Sunday afternoon.
Lewis Dunk – 9.18
Alongside Veltman, his defensive work prevented Ronaldo having much opportunity to shine. Stroked the ball around with confidence at the back. When you watch players like Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof flapping around at centre back for United, it becomes utterly bizarre that no big club has seriously considered signing Dunk given his excellence over the past five seasons.
MARC CUCURELLA – 9.77
If there is any justice in the world (and fans of The Leeds United have not rigged the vote this year) then Cucurella will be named Brighton Player of the Season. The only possible complaint you could have about him before he topped the Brighton 4-0 Man United ratings was that he had not scored a Premier League goal. Righted that wrong with an excellent finish having charged up the pitch from centre back to join an early second half attack.
Solly March – 8.41
Not quite sure how March only scores an 8.41 as he was superb, something that was reflected by the fantastic applause he received from the Amex crowd when substituted. A constant threat down the right to the point whereby he may well have overtaken Tariq Lamptey in the pecking order.
Moises Caicedo – 9.41
His 25 yard fizzer into the bottom corner was a fine way to open the scoring and his Premier League account. United learned first hand what a cock up they have made in not pushing harder to sign him in January 2021 as he was a superb bundle of energy, flicks and clever passes in the engine room.
Yves Bissouma – 8.59
This was Bissouma at his understated best. Whilst everyone around him produced individual moments of brilliance, he got on with the job of sitting in front of and protecting the back three. Without such an effective performance in that role, there would have been less opportunities for his teammates to shine. United could do a lot worse than pay £50 million to take him to Old Trafford as a Paul Pogba replacement next season.
Pascal Gross – 9.73
When he spoke after the game about five years being a long time to spend away from home in a foreign country, it sounded as if he was paving the way for a goodbye. If this was to be his penultimate home match as an Albion player then what a way to begin bowing out. Took his goal brilliantly and the double Gross Turn followed by back heel on the left flank in the second half was one of the most beautiful things you will ever see on a football pitch. Hang it in the Lourve.
Leandro Trossard – 9.41
Continues to absolutely thrive since Graham Potter moved him to left wing back. Two assists for the second and third Albion goals and his determination to get into the box and chase down Danny Welbeck’s lift over De Gea resulted in him scoring the fourth himself.
Alexis Mac Allister – 8.86
Heavily involved in the second and third goals as Brighton picked United apart after the break. Stretched United with clever movement in the space between the Red Devils’ defence and midfielder, leaving the back four unsure about whether to step up and mark him and the midfield unsure about whether to drop deep to pick him up.
Danny Welbeck – 8.73
Was not able to add to his impressive scoring record against his former club but that was not for the want of trying. Not far away with a clever volleyed lob in the first half and then denied by De Gea in the second half.
Adam Webster – 7.64
Potter can surely not have imagined that the opportunity would arise to get more minutes under Webster’s belt with Brighton 4-0 ahead and the game all but over after an hour. Some nice touches on the left of the back three.
Tariq Lamptey – 7.36
Made a couple of charges down the right flank to give United more headaches once introduced for the closing stages.
Neal Maupay – 7.27
A rousing reception from the North Stand when he warmed up was a reminder of the French forward’s popularity. Bit surprised Potter left it so long to bring him on; had Maupay been afforded 25 minutes against a creaking United defence rather than five, then he might have found a goal to reboot his confidence.
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.
