Fulham 0-0 Brighton: Sanchez the star of the player ratings in bore draw
One man stood out above all else in our Fulham 0-0 Brighton player ratings and there are no prizes for guessing who. Take a bow Big Bob Sanchez.
For the second time this season, Graham Potter dropped Maty Ryan and replaced him with the 23-year-old Spaniard. Sanchez once again performed admirably to underline his potential, helping the Albion to earn their third clean sheet of the season with a couple of big second half saves.
At the opposite end of the pitch, it was an evening to forget for Brighton’s two strikers. Leandro Trossard and Danny Welbeck were both the lowest rated players by some distance as neither were able to make a dent on a Fulham side who have struggled to stop goals flying in so far on their return to the Premier League.
Since the full time whistle blew at Craven Cottage, there has been a debate brewing about whether this was a good point or not. Based on the average player ratings hovering around a six, it looks decent enough – providing of course that the Albion follow it up with three points at home to Sheffield United in their next fixture.
Here is how the Albion rated for Fulham 0-0 Brighton.
ROBERT SANCHEZ – 7.60
The second coming of Christ is here and his name is Robert Sanchez. The goalkeeper had little to do in the first half and he got a bit lucky with his first save of the second, diving low to his right before Ruben Loftus-Cheek had even shot. Luckily, Loftus-Cheek went onto hit his effort straight at the trailing leg of Sanchez before Sanchez made an excellent reaction save from Ademola Lookman to preserve a clean sheet. The number one shirt is his to lose now.
Adam Webster – 6.25
Being dropped for the trip to Leicester looks to have done him some good as this was his best game for a while. A VAR check highlighted his perfectly timed second half tackle on Lookman and he was unlucky not score at the other end when his header rattled the crossbar.
Lewis Dunk – 6.60
Whilst Webster was unlucky not to score, Dunk really should have scored with two headers. His first was straight at Alphonse Areola and he seemed to be caught in two minds about to what to do with the second between going for goal and nodding down for Welbeck. In the end, he ended up doing neither as his cushioned header went wide of the post. Did his day job of defending reasonably well.
Ben White – 6.50
We are a bit surprised to see White scoring as low as 6.50 in the Fulham 0-0 Brighton player ratings. One of those games where he was able to stride out of defence, popping up in all manner of exciting attacking positions in the second half at the same time as being rarely troubled defensively.
Tariq Lamptey – 6.65
Showed everyone what a difference he makes to this Brighton team as the Albion looked miles better with him bombing up and down the right than they had in the debacle at the King Power Stadium three days earlier. Would have had an assist if Welbeck had been able to get a touch onto his fizzing first half cross.
Yves Bissouma – 6.60
Judging by the number of times he was fouled, Scott Parker had done his homework and realised just how important Bissouma has been to Brighton this season. Although being closely monitored meant that he could not be as influential as normal, he still showed why Liverpool and Arsenal are taking serious interest in securing his services.
Steve Alzate – 6.15
Brighton fans have been clamouring for Alzate since he was dropped in the aftermath of October’s 4-2 defeat at Everton. He finally got his chance at Craven Cottage and judging by the fact that only Welbeck and Leandro Trossard secured lower player ratings in Fulham 0-0 Brighton, it perhaps was not the return a lot of folk were expecting.
Solly March – 6.80
The second highest scoring Brighton player at Fulham. Forced Areola into the only save either goalkeeper had to make in the first half and enjoyed a blistering 20 minute spell at the start of the second half in which he was behind the Albion’s near-total dominance.
Adam Lallana – 6.45
Thought he had given Brighton the lead on 49 minutes, only for VAR to correctly chalk the goal off because of a handball by Welbeck in the build up. Played some lovely little threaded passes and you can see what a difference he makes when fit enough to start. Potter will be crossing his fingers, his toes and everything else that this did not take so much out of him as to mean he cannot play against Sheffield United on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard – 5.35
Neither striker covered themselves in glory with Trossard scoring slightly better than Welbeck. It was a quiet night for the Belgian, whose form has dropped off alarmingly since November. Those comparisons to Paul Brooker hibernating when cold weather until the spring came along are looking more and more valid.
Danny Welbeck – 5.25
You could argue that Welbeck deserved a better score than Trossard as whilst Trossard did nothing, Welbeck did at least put himself in a position to score. Should have connected with Lamptey’s low cross in the first half but the handball before Lallana struck was unfortunate more than anything else and took away from what was actually a clever bit of play.
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.
