After Brighton had suffered defeats to Chelsea in the Carabao cup (1-0), Aston Villa in the Premier League (6-1) and a draw after going 2-0 down to Marseille in midweek, Brighton managed a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Amex.
Brighton have had a poor few weeks, especially defensively with mistakes costing them in recent times. With a few injuries in the squad, a few changes were made to freshen up the side, with the likes of Simon Adingra, Carlos Baleba and Igor Julio coming in. These changes gave Brighton a different energy than they have had in recent weeks, and there was definently chances for the Seagulls to beat Liverpool.
Read on for our Brighton player ratings, and who stood out for the Seagulls…
Bart Verbruggen – 6.5 – Made two saves inside the box, and played 44 successful passes showing his importance for Brighton in build up. Not much he could do about the goals, one being a penalty.
Solly March – 7.5 – March played further back than usual, playing as a left back but with license to go forward and overlap Mitoma. Got the assist from a freekick for Lewis Dunk’s goal and made a whopping six tackles.
Igor Julio – 6 – Looked to be suffering from a knock throughout the game, and was subbed off in the 63rd minute. Still managed two key passes from defense and contributed well for Brighton in possession.
Lewis Dunk – 7.5 – Dunk scored the important equaliser for Brighton, and made one key pass from the back. Dunk was also very solid defensively with two aerial duels won out of three, three out of three ground duels won, three clearances, one block and one tackle.
Joel Veltman – 6 – Veltman made a few clearances and a tackle but had the likes of Nunez drifting over to his side and cause him problems. He only made 17 passes (14 successful) with an 82% pass accuracy, and he also lost both of his aerial duels.
Pascal Gross – 6 – Gross looked to drop between the central defenders in this game, to help with build up play, he had a few poor passes in central areas losing possession 10 times, but Gross did manage one key pass and a pass accuracy of 89% despite playing six long balls.
Carlos Baleba – 7.5 – Baleba added a much needed presence in midfield, covering a lot of ground and getting stuck in. He made two blocks, three interceptions and two tackles, along with four out of four long balls completed.
Kaoru Mitoma – 5.5 – Not the most impactful game from Mitoma we have seen, only managing one shot which was off target and one cross. Much more went down the opposite side for Brighton.
Joao Pedro – 6.5 – Pedro was involved, making two key passes and had two shots (one blocked and one off target). However he also lost possession quite a few times in dangerous deeper areas with his back to goal, losing possession 11 times.
Simon Adingra – 8 – The real bright spark for Brighton, won the ball back and scored for their first goal, and was direct at every chance down his flank. Completed three out of nine dribbles attempted, had two shots on target, completed two out of two long balls and of course scored his goal.
Evan Ferguson – 5 – Wasn’t very involved and was taken off after 60 minutes. Only had 24 touches, losing possession six times and only having the one shot off target, quiet day for Ferguson.
Subs: Danny Welbeck 6, Jan Paul van Hecke 5, Ansu Fati N/A.