Brighton 4-1 Crystal Palace: Gross grounds Eagles to top ratings
After the famine comes the feast. Or something like that. Four days after the highest score in the Brighton player ratings at Luton Town was a four, no less than Albion eight players secured an eight or above as Crystal Palace were demolished 4-1 at the Amex.
This was Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls at their free flowing, attacking best. The one-touch passing triangles to get out of trouble. Jack Hinshelwod and Tariq Lamptey provided the pace and width in the absence of any natural wingers.
And there were the sort of spectacular finishes we have become accustomed to from this special group of players. Facundo Buonanotte finding the top corner from distance (again). Joao Pedro with utter filth from the outside of his boot. Hinshelwood even managed to make a looping header look sexy.
Top spot in the ratings could have gone to anyone of about five candidates. In the end, Pascal Gross just edged out Joao Pedro thanks to two assists and a sublime all round performance.
Sublime is probably the best adjective to describe the team as a whole. Brighton 4-1 Crystal Palace will go down as one of the great days in Albion history – and here are your player ratings.
Bart Verbruggen – 7.73
Two saves from Jeffrey Schlupp were the sum of his afternoon. Nothing he could do about the header from Jean-Philippe Mateta which gave Palace their consolation.
Jan Paul van Hecke – 8.00
One questionable moment when he lost the ball in a dangerous position, resulting in Verbruggen having to save from Schlupp. Some of his passing was delightful, including the ball zipped forward leading to Pedro adding the fourth goal.
Lewis Dunk – 8.40
There have not been many sweeter moments at the Amex than Dunk heading Brighton into a 1-0 lead inside of three minutes right in front of the away end, silencing the Palace support who have spent years singing a legally inaccurate song about him. Set the tone for the humiliation that was to come.
Igor Julio – 8.07
Igor! Igor! Igor! An absolute beast at the back. Much better positionally than he had been against Luton (although it admittedly would have been had to be much worse) and looked as comfortable in possession as both Van Hecke and Dunk.
Jack Hinshelwood – 8.47
Thrived with the even greater attacking freedom which came from De Zerbi opting for wing backs. His header for the second goal was perfectly looped into the opposite corner of the goal, leaving Dean Henderson helpless.
PASCAL GROSS – 8.80
Just another 90 minutes of Gross doing Gross things. His perfectly weighted and placed corner meant Brighton scored from a rare set piece. Then won possession instantly from Palace kicking off after the second goal, exchanged passed with Pedro and set up Facundo Buonanotte for the third.
Billy Gilmour – 7.47
So many other Brighton players shone that he was rather lost in the shuffle. Did a decent job of retaining possession, even if De Zerbi cut a frustrated figure at times when Gilmour moved the ball sideways and backwards rather than forwards.
Tariq Lamptey – 8.33
His first start since returning from injury. Electric up and down the left from the first whistle, winning the corner from which the opening goal arrived. The challenge for Lamptey is to stay fit between now and the end of the season.
Facundo Buonanotte – 8.13
After being hauled on Tuesday night following 45 ineffective minutes, Buonanotte bounced back in the best way possible. The Palace defence looked frightened whenever he had the ball and he scored his first goal at the Amex in some style.
Evan Fergsuon – 7.13
Drew several first half fouls, most notably when Marc Guehi pulled him back to earn a very early yellow card. Not many sights of goal other than a header saved by Henderson but his hold up and link play was good.
Joao Pedro – 8.73
So close to usurping Gross at the top of the Brighton 4-1 Palace ratings with only 0.07 points separating the two. The finish for his goal was inspired and the celebration counting through the four goals before making a cutthroat gesture iconic. Just four more needed for him to break Michael Robinson‘s Albion record of 22 in a single top flight season.
Danny Welbeck – 7.73
Welbz is Dat Guy. Endeared himself further to Brighton fans in the short time he was on the pitch. Any player who picks up a booking against Palace is doing something right. He then produced an utterly outrageous flick to assist Pedro.
Carlos Baleba – 7.07
Palace had been briefly threatening with the Amex becoming nervous before Baleba’s introduction for Buonanotte. Brought renewed energy to midfield as Brighton saw out the game.
Pervis Estupinan – 6.87
Was he rested or was he dropped after a horror performance at Luton? Like Baleba, came off the bench to help end the attempted Palace rally which followed the Eagles scoring their consolation.
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.
