Norwich 0-0 Brighton: Burn turns into prime Bobby Moore to top ratings
Norwich City 0-0 Brighton wildly was a result which drew different reactions from across the Albion fanbase but one thing that we can seemingly all agree on if the player ratings were anything to go by is that Dan Burn was excellent.
The defender was head and shoulders above anybody else’s score, thanks largely to those two perfectly time, last ditch second half tackles that helped prevent the Canaries picking up their first win of the season.
Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy had fine games alongside him as the back three filled the top three spots in the ratings, telling you everything you need to know really about what sort of an afternoon Norwich 0-0 Brighton was from a Seagulls perspective – not pretty but a hard-earned point.
Whilst some Albion supporters moaned that we should be beating #TeamsLikeNorwich with seemingly no concept of irony, others felt that a draw and a clean sheet away from home when you do not play well is a sign of progress.
Here are the full player ratings for Norwich 0-0 Brighton.
Robert Sanchez – 6.00
A couple of routine stops and another clean sheet for his collection. His afternoon was best remembered however for the absolute mess he got in when attempting to clear outside his box, presenting Josh Sargent with an open goal from which we witnessed perhaps the worst miss in footballing history.
Shane Duffy – 6.57
The second man to be involved in that Sargent miss, it was Duffy who took advantage of the fact that the Norwich striker pea-rolled the ball towards an empty net to make up 20 yards and clear. Produced an even better block before that to deny his lively ex-teammate Mathias Normann.
Lewis Dunk – 7.57
Gave what can only be described as a classic Lewis Dunk performance. Numerous blocks, strong tackles and important headers as he led the defence to a clean sheet despite the players in front of them misfiring.
DAN BURN – 8.14
The most impressive thing about Burn’s performance is that he was actually quite poor in the first half. He never gives up though and his two sliding tackles in the box during the second half on Sargent and Teemu Puki were genuinely goal saving. If he gets either wrong, he concedes a penalty. They were brave, necessary and spot on.
Joel Veltman – 6.43
An afternoon spent mostly defending, which he did well to be fair. Made way for Tariq Lamptey in the second half, whose return means that we now have a fascinating battle on our hands as to who becomes first choice at right wing back.
Pascal Gross – 6.00
We are seemingly in that annual stage of every season where calls for Gross to be dropped are in fashion. Admittedly he was not at his best at Carrow Road but then nobody going forward shone – and he still might have had an assist if Dunk had done better with a header from his pinpoint free kick.
Jakub Moder – 6.29
Covered a lot of ground in an athletic display but like Gross, he struggled to make much impact when Brighton did have the ball. From what we have seen of him so far, he tends to find it easier to influence matches at the Amex and less so on the road.
Adam Lallana – 6.29
Did his best to make things happen. Drew a decent stop from Tim Krul and arguably the best of the three midfielders on the day, even if his player rating only puts him on a par with Moder.
Marc Cucurella – 6.29
For all the swashbuckling flair he provides at home, away from home he has shown that he is willing to get stuck in and do a defensive job. A booking for a foul on Sargent highlighted that to go with the yellow he picked up in the 1-1 draw at Palace. It will be interesting to see how much attacking he manages to do against Manchester City this week.
Leandro Trossard – 6.43
Came closest of anyone in blue and white to breaking the deadlock when his thumping volley after a lovely passing move was somehow tipped onto the bar by Krul. Buzzed around and caused problems for a Canaries defence whom he always seems to thrive against.
Neal Maupay – 6.29
Should have had a penalty when Krul brought him down in the first half. Brighton though are still hugely in debt to VAR for its interventions in the 2-1 win over Leicester City last month, so nobody could complain too much about technology not doing its job. Worse than the official’s decision was his miss late on when side footing over an easy chance with the goal gaping.
Tariq Lamptey – 6.14
His first Premier League minutes for 10 months came as he replaced Veltman for the final half hour. He was a little tentative at times but that is to be expected after so long on the shelf. The rest of the Premier League should be very worried as he ramps up his return.
Solly March – 6.43
Graham Potter clearly felt that the way to reinvigorate his side in the second half was by changing both wing backs. As well as Lamptey, Solly March replaced Marc Cucurella and instantly injected more dynamism down the left. He teed up Maupay for the late chance after great work in tormenting the Norwich defence.
Alexis Mac Allister – 5.71
A late introduction for Moder and although he was on the pitch during that five minute spell when Brighton recorded a ridiculous 96 percent possession, he struggled to make much impact in the little time he was given.
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.
