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WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month - May 2018

Three games in the final month of the 2017-18 Premier League campaign saw Brighton and Hove Albion take on the top three in the table and pick up one hugely impressive win.

Manchester United were deservedley beaten thanks to a combination of Pascal Gross and goal line technology on a day when Jose Mourinho's runners up were comprehensively outplayed at the Amex.

Taking on record breaking champions Manchester City was always likely to be a different story but the Albion did manage to equalise against the Citizens after great work by Davy Propper to tee up Leonardo Ulloa for his first league goal of his second spell with the club.

After that, there was a disappointing 4-0 defeat at Liverpool as we lost our impressive record of never losing by more than two goals away from home on an afternoon at Anfield in which most of the players looked like they were already on the beach, which was hardly surprising given it had been job done for over a week.

May 2018 Player of the Month -  Maty Ryan (36.91% of the vote)
Maty Ryan goes where no Brighton player has gone before in the history of our WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month awards by winning four different votes in one season. The Australian goalkeeper kept one clean sheet from March's three game when he was surprisingly underworked in the 1-0 win over Manchester United before conceding seven goals in the final two games of the season against Manchester City and Liverpool. It says much though that without his interventions in those clashes with the Premier League champions and the Champions League finalists, it could have been even worse.
Played 3 (3 starts, 0 sub). Scored 0.
Second: Anthony Knockaert (34.76% of the vote)
 It's been a slightly disappointing season from the Frenchman of whom so much was expected but he ended the campaign in fine form, winning man-of-the-match in the win over United and being the only player in yellow who worried City's menagerie of stars for his first top three finish of the season
Third: Pascal Gross (12.45% of the vote)
Scored his seventh goal of the season thanks to some assistance from goal line technology as Manchester United were beaten at the Amex. It was no coincidence that the Albion managed not one meaningful effort at Anfield when he was rested for the final game of the campaign.

 

The contenders:
Bruno - Another impressive month, none more so in helping the Albion to a clean sheet against Manchester United. Little surprise to see the Albion concede four times in the game he was rested for after letting in only one four in four before that.
Pascal Gross - Named the clubs official Player of the Season, he showed no sign in letting up by scoring the winner against United to take his tally for his debut campaign in England to seven.
Anthony Knockaert - Remarkably, this is the first time that he has made the shortlist for a Player of the Month award. He was a constant menace against United and one of the few Albion players who looked capable of giving Manchester City something to think about.
Davy Propper - Was instantly restored to the starting line up after his suspension against United despite Beram Kayal's good form and justified that by giving two further excellent performances which culminated in assisting Leonardo Ulloa's goal at City.
Maty Ryan - He may have conceded seven goals in three games, but without him it could have been a lot more. The Australian number one earned a deserved clean sheet against United in one of his quieter games of the season.
Leonardo Ulloa - The form of Glenn Murray means he has struggled for game time since arriving in January, but he marked his second league start of the campaign with his first league goal, a trademark header after ghosting between two men at City.