Chelsea 4-2 Brighton: Baleba best from bad bunch of ratings

To say Chelsea 4-2 Brighton was not the Albion’s best performance would be a slight understatement reflected by the fact that only two players scored higher than a six in the player ratings.

Take a bow Carlos Baleba and Georginio Rutter. Or maybe don’t take a bow. Should we be celebrating two Seagulls for simply being less shit than the rest?

Maybe. Maybe not. But what is interesting about these player ratings is that the two Albion players who were the best at pressing at Stamford Bridge were head and shoulders above anyone else.

Whilst all the focus when it comes to Fabian Hurzeler’s tactics has been on the admittedly suicidal high line, the flip side is the aggressive press which comes from said high line delivered both Albion goals.

Clearly, there is risk and reward from the way Hurzeler plays. The problem in West London being there was no reward and the risk was ruthlessly punished – resulting in the following Chelsea 4-2 Brighton player ratings.

Bart Verbruggen – 4.38

Not sure there was much he could do about the first three goals. But he gave the ball away for the fourth and was then beaten at his near post. If Jason Steele does that, some Albion fans would demand he be hung, drawn and quartered in a public execution at the Clock Tower the same evening.

Ferdi Kadigolu – 4.75

“Hi Ferdi. Welcome to the Premier League. For your first start, your playing right back in a high defensive line and you need to cope with the pace of a revitalised Jadon Sancho.” Poor bastard.

Adam Webster – 3.38

Woeful attempted back pass gifted Chelsea their first goal and caused the floodgates to open. Has taken so much subsequent abuse as to delete his Twitter account. The real crime though is not Webster’s poor performance but the fact Brighton spent £200 million in a single transfer window and yet did not strengthen their defence, meaning he finds himself put in a such a difficult situation.

Lewis Dunk – 4.50

No glaring individual mistake ala Webster but Dunk was not much better overall. Whisper it quietly, but if the high line is here to stay then this might be the beginning of the end of his Brighton career.

Pervis Estupinan – 4.13

Chelsea had clearly done their homework and having seen how much Estupinan struggled against Nottingham Forest last week, targeted the Albion left as a potential weakness. It brought them a lot of joy, most notably when Estupinan brought down Noni Madueke as he went galloping clear and Cole Palmer converted the resulting free kick to complete his hat-trick.

Mats Wieffer – 4.88

Still getting to grips with the pace of the Premier League, epitomised when he was easily dispossessed from a Verbruggen pass in the second half. Luckily, Palmer fired wide when he could have had his fourth of the afternoon.

CARLOS BALEBA – 7.13

Pressed Levi Colwill to present Rutter with the chance to open the scoring. Pressed Caciedo, seized on a crap pass out from Robert Sanchez and then beat the former Brighton goalkeeper to give the Albion their second. Looks the Seagulls player most suited to the way Hurzeler wants to play.

Georginio Rutter – 6.50

Rutter was never a prolific scorer in the Championship with 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up The Leeds United, making it pleasing to see him get off the mark for Brighton in only his third start. His towering header was a great finish made even better by the fact it embarrassed that clown Sanchez.

Jack Hinshelwood – 5.00

Played as a central midfielder, number 10 and at right back just to channel the spirit of Pascal Gross. Failed to convince in any position.

Kaoru Mitoma – 5.25

Should have had at least one penalty in a performance which marked him out as the best Albion attacker on the day and earned him the third-highest score of any starter in the Chelsea 4-2 Brighton player ratings.

Danny Welbeck – 5.13

He led the line well and did his best to stretch a Chelsea defence which never looked entirely convincing. Probably should have scored but it seems harsh to criticise an attacker given the circus going on at the other end of the pitch.

Igor Julio – 5.63

The defence tightened up with Igor on the pitch although that may have been because Chelsea took pity on the Albion and eased off. If Jan Paul van Hecke is still injured for Spurs next weekend, Igor surely has to start.

Yasin Ayari – 5.63

Another solid outing from a player who not many Albion fans back in the summer would have been expecting to feature this season.

Julio Enciso – 5.28

Back at the scene of one of his famous spectacular long distance drives. Looked to get the Albion on the front foot.

Yankubu Minteh – 5.13

With no Simon Adingra, it was something of a surprise Minteh did not come straight back into the starting XI. Not much time to make an impression.

Evan Ferguson – 5.00

Even less time to make an impression. Which was odd as the game being done early meant it represented a good opportunity to get much-needed minutes into the legs of Ferguson via an introduction long before the final 10 minutes.

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.