West Brom 1-0 Brighton: Dunk tops ratings for his post-game interview

Question: How do you know a team has played woefully in a game of football? Answer: When the man at the top of the player ratings is only there because he gave a frank post-match interview about the referee, as Lewis Dunk did following Brighton & Hove Albion’s 1-0 defeat at West Brom.

Dunk was at the centre of the most controversial moment at the Hawthorns when his quickly taken freekick was disallowed, allowed and then disallowed again by Lee Mason whose decision making U-turned nearly as much as Boris Johnson’s.

Speaking afterwards, Dunk told Sky Sports of the incident: “I said to the referee: ‘Can I take it?’ He blew his whistle and I took it. Why doesn’t he come and speak to the press like me? Never. They hide behind their bubble.”

“I don’t think he knew what he was doing. He gave the goal. Why did he give it? I don’t know why VAR was getting involved.” Dunk was then asked if he felt Mason had lost control of the game. The Albion captain responded with a simple, “Yeah, he did. Fact.”

Dunk can probably expect a word from the FA for his outburst. The farce it caused also helped divert some attention from just how bad Brighton had played against opponents with only one home win to their name so far in the 2020-21 season.

Mr Mason’s cock up aside, the Seagulls managed to become the first team in Premier League history to hit the woodwork from two penalties in a single game.

There were several other horrific off-target efforts and the defending from the corner which saw West Brom score the only goal of the game was a flashback to the bad old days of the first half of the campaign, when Brighton conceded from set pieces every week.

All of which makes for some pretty grim West Brom 1-0 Brighton player ratings.

Robert Sanchez – 5.33
Scored a 10 in the fashion stakes for starting the game wearing a baseball cap in homage to former Baggies goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. Remained uncharacteristically glued on his line at the corner from which West Brom scored the only goal but dealt well with a barrage of high balls into the box over the rest of the 80 minutes.

Joel Veltman – 5.38
Graham Potter’s change to a back four meant Veltman’s attacking instincts were curbed and he was less prominent as a result. Still managed to pop up in the box twice late on, seeing a shot saved by Sam Johnstone and then having a strong appeal for a penalty turned down. Just as well really as that saved Brighton from the inevitable embarrassment of a third miss from 12 yards of the afternoon.

LEWIS DUNK – 6.29
Aside from his assassination of Mr Mason’s refereeing performance, he gave a solid performance. The controversial free kick was a piece of quick thinking from a clever player and he defended reasonably well when called upon.

Ben White – 5.14
Like Veltman, he was not able to roam forward as much as normal because of the formation change. This merely served to highlight what an important part of his game stepping out of defence with possession is as this was a below par performance compared to his form since the turn of the year.

Dan Burn – 4.48
Looked okay going forward but struggled defensively at times. Still not sure he warranted such a low rating. He is a convenient scapegoat even when there are others are disappoint more.

Yves Bissouma – 4.52
His performance levels seem to have dropped off ever since that win at Liverpool at the start of the month. His agent said in mid-January that Arsenal had made contact about a potential summer move, which makes you wonder if the midfielder has had his head turned.

Pascal Gross – 4.52
Whatever is in the water at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre which saps footballers of all composure in front of goal must be strong stuff if it can make a German miss a penalty. Lent back far too much with his spot kick but did his best to make up for that by earning Brighton a second bite of the cherry from the spot…. which they then missed again.

Leandro Trossard – 4.62
Deployed a little wider than usual which you would think a player of his pace, trickery and guile would be more suited to. He struggled though to make many inroads into a stubborn West Brom defence.

Alexis Mac Allister – 5.05
Played in Aaron Connolly for a good chance well saved by Johnstone and won the free kick which caused so much controversy. Withdrawn at half which seemed odd with Brighton needing invention to find a way back into the game.

Aaron Connolly – 3.33
An horrific miss led to him finishing bottom of the West Brom 1-0 Brighton player ratings – not the first time his finishing has seen him score so dismally. Johnstone was lying on the ground having saved a Neal Maupay effort, giving Connolly 192 square feet of empty goal to aim at. For the Irishman to put the ball over the bar from six yards was incredible.

Neal Maupay – 3.43
Most of his low rating was as a result of a first half opportunity in a good position from eight yards that he managed to put out for a throw. He created several chances for his teammates though, highlighting again that he brings something to the party – it is just not in terms of finishing.

Adam Lallana – 4.29
Picked out a couple of passes which nobody else in Potter’s squad would have been capable of, including in the build up to the second penalty. More minutes under his belt means he could come into contention to start next week against Leicester.

Danny Welbeck – 3.67
It was curious that Brighton gave a must-score penalty to a bloke who has taken one spot kick in his entire professional career at senior level. His effort cannoned back off the post and you could tell he did not really know what he was doing when he illegally tried to turn in the rebound himself.

Jakub Moder – 4.71
A Premier League debut for the £9.5 million signing from Lech Poznan. Displayed some nice touches in his short time on the pitch, although we did not get to see if he possesses the ability to score from inside the penalty area which is the one skill Brighton desperately, desperately need.

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.