Fulham 2-1 Brighton: Mac Allister tops ratings as all else struggle
A 2-1 defeat at Fulham saw Brighton surrender their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a whimper, leaving the lowest set of WAB Player Ratings for some time.
The Albion could have topped the table with victory at Craven Cottage. Instead, they could not cope with the outstanding Aleksandar Mitrovic, who once again left Lewis Dunk and the Brighton defence with PTSD.
Mitrovic now has four Premier League goals against the Seagulls, more than he has managed against any other club. He is also responsible for the normally-reliable Albion back line recording scores no greater than Joel Veltman’s 5.33.
Dunk and Adam Webster were both rated below five. It has been known for one to have a bad game whilst the other does okay. For the two of them to struggle so much in the same 90 minutes is unheard of.
Only one Brighton starter emerged with any credit. Alexis Mac Allister achieved a 7.03 to top the Fulham 2-1 Brighton ratings with substitute Kaoru Mitoma a distant second with 6.33. Is that enough to play the Japanese international into Graham Potter’s starting XI?
We will find out the answer to that question when Leicester City come to the Amex at the weekend. A better performance – and better player ratings than these – will be needed against the Foxex.
Robert Sanchez – 4.56
A shaky showing in which his panic and uncertainty seemed to seep directly into the defence in front of him. One good first half save but otherwise a night to forget for the Albion number one.
Joel Veltman – 5.33
The highest scoring defender in the Fulham 2-1 Brighton ratings, not that it is much of a compliment. He usually copes with whatever is thrown at him yet the speedy Neeskens Kebano caused plenty of problems. He did at least have the excuse of having been rushed back from a weekend injury to play.
Lewis Dunk – 4.83
Presumably Gareth Southgate was watching? Dunk always seems to save his worst performances for when he is in front of the England manager and this was certainly up there. Not the first time he has struggled against Aleksandar Mitrovic. A comical second half own goal was the icing on the cake.
Adam Webster – 4.33
Could not cope with Mitrovic. Compounded that by being sloppy in possession. Him and Sanchez passing the ball between them in injury time when the Albion needed to get up the pitch if they were to have any hope of fashioning an equaliser was utterly bizarre decision making. Webster then dribbling the ball out of play to give Fulham a corner summed the Albion’s night up.
Solly March – 5.33
One of Brighton’s few attacking outlets, he displayed several creative moments. Once again though these were overshadowed by a couple of good opportunities missed, meaning his final ball and finishing continue to remain under the microscope.
ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER – 7.06
Whilst everyone around him was having a bit of a shocker, Mac Allister kept his head and put in a solid 7/10 showing. Scored the Albion consolation with a confidently despatched penalty.
Moises Caicedo – 5.89
A second Premier League defeat in the career of young Moises. Kept battling away even as it became apparent that this was going to be a rare occasion where a Brighton midfield featuring his talent were coming off the second best.
Enock Mwepu – 3.61
20 minutes up front in the 1-0 win over The Leeds United should have been enough to tell Potter that The Computer cannot play as a striker. Despite the evidence of Saturday, the Albion boss pushed Mwepu further forward when instigating an early formation change from a back three to a back four. Has to play as a number 10 if Brighton are to see the best of him.
Pervis Estupinan – 4.39
The early impression of the Albion’s new £15 million left back is that things will not be dull with him around. Heavily involved in Fulham’s second when giving away the ball, enabling the Cottagers to break at pace and deliver the cross turned past Sanchez by Dunk. Estupinan even picked up a booking after Fulham had scored for scything down Mitrovic after losing the ball. Made up for it slightly by winning the penalty converted by Mac Allister.
Pascal Gross – 5.56
Was positioned too high up the pitch by Potter in the initial formation for Brighton to make use of his usual creativity. The Cottagers also seemed to have picked him out as the dangerman, having him closely tracked and denying him space in which to work.
Leandro Trossard – 5.17
We learnt last season that Trossard as a false nine only works against the top teams. Fulham away is not the sort of fixture to adopt such an approach and it showed as the Vampire of Genk was totally ineffective. If he is providing the centre forward back up when Danny Welbeck is injured or rested, the Albion can forget dreams of Europe.
Danny Welbeck – 5.78
Understandable that a player with his injury record was rested for the middle game of three fixtures in eight days. His absence highlighted just how much he brings to the team. The Albion looked much more of a threat once he was introduced.
Tariq Lamptey – 5.78
His pace gave Fulham something to think about. Managed to escape down the line on a couple of occasions and deliver crosses into the box, although they sadly led to very little.
Kaoru Mitoma – 6.33
30 minutes was all that My Mitoma needed to secure the second highest score in the Fulham 2-1 Brighton ratings. His directness and the way he eludes defenders is a breath of fresh air. With the unbeaten start now over and changes to Potter’s first choice XI more acceptable, it will be interesting to see if he has done enough to earn a start against Leicester.
Deniz Undav – 4.44
That Trossard as a false nine was preferred to giving Undav a full Premier League debut suggests Potter believes the German striker is not yet ready for the Premier League. Received 10 minutes in which he hit the post with a dinked one-on-one over Bernd Leno. He really should have found the back of the net with that effort, although the fact he was about 20 yards offside means it surely would have been ruled out.
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.
