Wolves 0-3 Brighton: Classy Cucurella leads Molineux mullering ratings
The Albion’s Player of the Season vote should be a two horse race between Joel Veltman and Marc Cucurella. The latter reminded us of just how good he has been in his debut Premier League season with one of his best displays so far to top the player ratings in Wolves 0-3 Brighton.
What has made Cucurella’s campaign so impressive is that since Dan Burn was sold for £15 million of Saudi blood money to Sportswashing FC, the Spaniard has found himself being used as a central defender in a back three.
Cucurella had never filled such a role in his life. That he now looks completely comfortable there having learned on the job in the bear pit of English top flight football is astounding.
Not only that, but he is now managing to combine his defensive duties as a centre back with the swashbuckling runs up the pitch would made him so popular in his initial left wing back role.
There cannot be another central defender in the Premier League who is so adept foraging forward to make things happen at the other end of the pitch. Cucurella truly is a marvel.
The hosts at Molineux could certainly find no answer to him. That is why he tops these Wolves 0-3 Brighton player ratings, a deserved score in the nines reflective of the fact that he was the best Albion player in one of the most impressive away days of the 2021-22 season.
Robert Sanchez – 7.75
Wolves score even less goals than Brighton, so he probably expected to be quiet at Molineux. But to not even have a save to make? He will not pick up an easier clean sheet all season and that was thanks to the effort of the three in front of him.
Joel Veltman – 8.13
On the few occasions Wolves did threaten, Veltman managed to snuff out any attacks with some smart blocks. This 90 minutes summed up his two years at Brighton so far – nothing spectacular, but a consistency in quality performances that few (if any) other Albion players can meet.
Lewis Dunk – 8.50
Wolves sent some half-threatening crosses into the box. That they came to nothing was because of how dominant Dunk was in the air. He also played an important part in winning the second Albion penalty with a quick piece of thinking and a pinpoint free kick launched down the pitch to catch the hosts flatfooted.
MARC CUCURELLA – 9.25
What a man. An absolute joy to watch over 90 minutes with two moments in particular standing out. The first was when he thwarted Fabio Silva – a Wolves striker with similarly wonderful hair – from breaking. The other came at the opposite end of the pitch when he went rampaging up the left to deliver the low cross which eventually led to Yves Bissouma firing in the third Brighton goal.
Solly March – 7.50
March has been solid enough in recent weeks, leading to the question of where can Graham Potter fit him into the starting XI? At Molineux, the answer was right wing back as Tariq Lamptey was rested. He was the lowest scoring player in the Wolves 0-3 Brighton ratings, which seemed a little harsh as he did some good defensive work and won the first Albion penalty with a dangerous cross into the box.
Yves Bissouma – 8.25
Wolves were so toothless largely because of the work done by Bissouma and Moises Caicedo in midfield. A first Premier League goal for 18 months rounded off a fine afternoon, although the lack of celebration from a player who used to be permanently happy was interesting.
Moises Caicedo – 8.75
Consistently won the ball back for Brighton in the engine room and displayed an array of one-touch flicks that opened up spaces for the Albion to break into. Hard to believe he is just 20 years old and has been playing Premier League football for only a month.
Leandro Trossard – 8.50
Bissouma being out of contract in a year might be the issue dominating talk about Albion’s summer transfer business, but Trossard deserves to be in that conversation too as him not signing a new deal would be an equally big blow. Three goals in four games from left wing back moves him onto seven for the season. If he carries on like this over the final four fixtures, he could yet end the campaign as Brighton top scorer.
Alexis Mac Allister – 8.38
Buzzed around behind Danny Welbeck but his afternoon was a tale of two penalties. Hit the post with the first and as Pascal Gross and Neal Maupay can tell you, that normally leads to a player ratings in the threes. Showed enormous self-confidence to wrestle the ball from Trossard and send his spot kick the same way for the second penalty, this time nestling it into the corner.
Enock Mwepu – 7.75
No need for Brighton fans to shout shoot when Mwepu is on the pitch. He had a couple of decent efforts from distance in the first half. Injury forced him off in the second, as has frequently been the case this season. Hopefully, having a season of Premier League football under his belt will make him more robust for 2022-23.
Danny Welbeck – 8.50
It is performances like these that make you accept the fact Dat Guy will spend half the season injured. Won the second penalty successfully converted by Mac Allister and then assisted Trossard’s goal. The best striker Brighton have and he too needs to be tied down to another year.
Adam Webster – 7.50
A big call from Potter to drop Webster back to the bench when he needs minutes to shake the rust that seems to develop every time he comes back from injury. Absolutely the right thing to do however, and he was solid enough when replacing the injured Mwepu once he got a heavy first touch of the game out of his system.
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.
