The class of Lallana and Welbeck show how good Brighton could be
Hands up who enjoyed Brighton & Hove Albion’s winning goal against Southampton? Adam Lallana to Danny Welbeck to Leandro Trossard to lash past Fraser Forster and make it Saints 1-2 Brighton.
It was football made to look easy, especially the involvements of Lallana and Welbeck who have at times been much maligned so far in the 2020-21 season due to their injury records.
Those who criticise Lallana and Welbeck for their fitness struggles often miss the central point that if either player were not so injury prone, they would not be playing for Brighton. They would still be at Liverpool and Arsenal and quite possibly mainstays of Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
When Brighton signed Lallana and Welbeck in the summer, there was always an element of risk involved. The club brought them to the Amex knowing that they would probably miss a fair few matches; but for the games they were fit and available, they possessed the ability to be genuine match winners and a class above anyone else in Graham Potter’s squad.
The Southampton goal was evidence of that. Who else on the pitch in blue – or red for that matter – could have done what Lallana did and spot a teammate in a crowded box before sending the perfect pass to his feet through an unimaginably tight gap?
And would anybody else have been able to slice open the Southampton defence with a one-touch layoff as Welbeck managed to leave Trossard one-on-one with Forster? No is the answer you are looking for.
Welbeck and Lallana may have played less than we all would have liked this season, but between them they have more than justified Brighton’s decision to sign them.
The opening goal in the Albion’s 2-1 victory at Aston Villa in November came from Lallana threading Welbeck in and Welbeck dinking calmly over Emiliano Martinez. How many times have we seen that sort of opportunity missed this season?
Welbeck’s second Premier League goal of the campaign spared Brighton the considerable embarrassment of losing 1-0 at home to rock-bottom Sheffield United, who had played for over an hour with only 10 men. It was Welbeck too who earned the late penalty converted by Pascal Gross in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
At the very least, Lallana and Welbeck have been responsible for delivering four of Brighton’s points this season. That may not seem like much, but in a Premier League relegation battle where the margins are so tight it is significant. Take it away at this point in time and the Albion would be in the bottom three.
The talents of Lallana and Welbeck also highlight another interesting aspect of Brighton’s struggles under Graham Potter. Long has the theory gone that Potterball is a style more suited to a better class of player than the Albion have.
To play the fluid, possession football which Potter wants you need players who are technically excellent and who have a clever football brain. Give Potter individuals with the ability to carry out his ideas and, well, the sky is the limit.
It is a theory which gains credence when you watch Lallana and Welbeck combining for goals like those scored at Southampton and Aston Villa.
Imagine what Potter could do if if those two were fit enough to be available for 38 games a season? Or if he had a few more players like Lallana and Welbeck?
Clearly, signing fit individuals of their quality is not going to happen anytime soon. No player as good as Lallana and Welbeck in their pomp is coming to Brighton; the Albion could neither afford anyone like that, nor would they be likely to sign for a club who is yet to finish higher than 15th in the Premier League.
Brighton instead have to hope that the young players they have bought in can develop into talents good enough to make Potterball work on a regular basis, as Lallana and Welbeck do on the infrequent occasions they make it onto the pitch.
There are promising signs in that regard. Alexis Mac Allister has come on leaps and bounds this season. Watch him glide around the pitch with the ball and pick out passes like the one-two he played with Trossard in the build up to the winner at The Leeds United and there is definitely a touch of the Lallanas about him.
Tariq Lamptey has all the talents required of a modern-day wingback and is only going to get better once he overcomes the injury problems a lot of young players with explosive pace suffer with.
Michal Karbownik and Jakub Moder are both predicted to have bright futures. Moises Caicedo was one of the hottest properties in South America and would have become a Manchester United player in January had the suits at Old Trafford not found untangling his web of third-party ownership so difficult, describing it as a “clusterf**k” and calling off the deal.
If those young players live up to their potential and remain at Brighton, then in a few years time Potter could find himself with the individual quality needed to play his brand of football much more effectively.
For now, the Albion have to rely on injury-prone ex-England internationals to show the rest how it is done. That is no bad thing as results, performances and the moments of class that Lallana and Welbeck have produced for Brighton this season show.
Potterball can work with the right quality of player. Lallana and Welbeck are the proof, albeit not seen regularly. Albion fans can enjoy their class now and know it shows what is possible if Potter’s squad keeps being strengthened and improved.
For that alone, both Lallana and Welbeck have proven worthwhile signings – and they might yet be the difference between Premier League football and Championship football in 2021-211.
