6 things we learned from Reading 1-2 Brighton
It felt like being given a prison term when the Albion announced their pre-season schedule for 2022-23. One away fixture which fans can attend and that is at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. At least it ended in victory, Reading 1-2 Brighton on a hot day in Berkshire.
Goals from Pascal Gross and a Solly March stunner were enough to extend the Seagulls’ friendly record to two wins and one draw from three matches.
Reading managed a consolation only because of a moment of madness from Robert Sanchez. Otherwise, Brighton were in total control.
Much of the attention was bound to focus on Marc Cucurella, what with him being subjected to more rumours and tittle tattle right now than the Royal Family.
There were plenty of other points of interest to come from the Seagulls trip to take on the Biscuitment, however. Here are six things we learned from Reading 1-2 Brighton – starting with our favourite wild-haired Spaniard, of course.
Marc Cucurella looks pretty happy at Brighton
Stage two of Manchester City’s usual devious behaviour when they are unable to sign a player for a cut-price fee is underway in the chase for Cucurella – namely try and unsettle the individual they want and his club as much as possible.
Pep Guardiola has started making public comments on Cucurella in an attempt to pressure Brighton into dropping their asking price.
City are also leaning on transfer expert journalist Fabrizio Romana to tell his millions of followers that Cucurella is deeply unhappy about being kept at the Amex against his will.
Listen to Romano and the City fans lapping up his every words and you would think Cucurella is like the bloke in the first Saw movie, considering cutting off his own foot to get away from the radiator Tony Bloom has him chained up to.
What we saw during Reading 1-2 Brighton was very different to the narrative being pushed by City. Cucurella looked as happy as ever in an Albion shirt.
There was not one inkling of him being a player who no longer wishes to play for Brighton in his attitude, body language or interaction with supporters. Either he is a very good actor, or City and Romano are talking bollocks. What would your money be on?
Neal Maupay looks pretty unhappy at Brighton
What really made Cucurella’s happiness and demeanour stand out though was the contrast between him and Neal Maupay, another player linked with a move away.
Maupay has been the subject of a £15 million bid from Serie A side Salernitana. He is out of contract in one year and has fallen down the pecking order, perhaps as low as third choice striker behind Danny Welbeck and Deniz Undav.
Brighton though would be taking a major risk in selling Maupay. Doubts remain over Welbeck’s fitness and Undav is totally unproven at Premier League level.
Sell Maupay and the Albion could find themselves up a certain creek without a paddle, should Dat Guy struggle with injury again and Undav turn out to be another Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
If Welbeck and Undav do deliver regular playing time and goals however, Maupay is going to be stuck on the bench. You can see why he would want to move with such uncertainty over his role this season, and that translated into an intriguing 20 minutes during the warm up before Reading 1-2 Brighton.
Whilst the rest of the Albion substitutes passed the ball between themselves, Maupay stood alone. He barely moved from the spot he had chosen, looking around the Select Car Leasing Stadium with his hands either in his pockets or on his chest.
It was the sort of preparation for a game you see from Big Dave on a Sunday morning at Waterhall, the only difference being Maupay did not work his way through half a pack of 20 Lambert & Butler.
Graham Potter introduced Maupay for the final 20 minutes. He worked hard as normal, but his game still seemed to be missing that edge that makes him such a dangerous player.
He looked like a man whose mind is elsewhere – hardly a surprise when an Italian club are offering him first team football and the chance to live in the beautiful Naples region. The Albion have some big decisions to make about Maupay’s futute.
Alexis Mac Allister as Yves Bissouma’s replacement
One of the more intriguing developments of pre-season so far has been Alexis Mac Allister taking over the Yves Bissouma role.
We saw Mac Allister used fleetingly in a deeper position at times last season, but it now seems like a fully-fledged conversion of him from a number 10 to a number 6 is underway.
It worked beautifully in Reading 1-2 Brighton. Mac Allister was able to spread the ball around as if he were a quarter back, picking out passes and getting the Albion onto the front foot with ease.
Whether Mac Allister will be so effective in such a role in the Premier League remains to be seen. He certainly has a long way to go to match Bissouma’s ability to read the game and win back possession in Brighton’s defensive third.
Which maybe where Moises Caicedo comes in. When the Albion lost 3-0 at Man City in April, Caicedo was superb in denying Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne amongst others with excellent last ditch blocks and tackles.
Based on that, the future Ballon d’Or winner has the capability to steal the ball from the best players in the world.
Combine his talents as a disruptor with Mac Allister’s playmaking ability and Brighton potentially have a central midfield partnership capable of exceeding what Bissouma brought to the party.
Robert Sanchez showing what pre-season is for
Sanchez has now been caught playing around at the back twice in the space of seven days. In Reading 1-2 Brighton, his terrible attempted pass went straight to Tom Ince.
Ince found Yakou Meite, who Mac Allister bundled over in the area to concede a penalty. Meite duly dusted himself down and made no mistake from the spot.
Some Brighton fans have voiced concerns over Sanchez going into the new season, based on those couple of costly mistakes. Errors like those are what pre-season is for, shaking the rust and getting mistakes out of the way before the real stuff starts.
It is better for Sanchez to give away goals in meaningless matches against Reading and Estoril than do it at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season.
If he ends up with assists for Manchester United and Newcastle United in the first two Premier League games of the season, then it might be time to wonder what is going on. But not now.
Kaoru Mitoma is an exciting signing
As a teenage wonderkid from South America, Julio Enciso has taken most of the headlines when it comes to exciting young acquisition for the 2022-23 season.
Kaoru Mitoma deserves a mention in despatches. He may not be as flashy or flair as Enciso, but he looks to have the skillset and pace – an asset Brighton have often been accused of lacking under Potter – to make an impression on the Premier League.
We tweeted that few Albion players have dominated against Reading like Mitoma since Maheta Molango. Which also served as a reminder not to get too carried away based on one game of football against the Biscuitment.
Molango scored after 12 seconds of his debut at the Madjeski Stadium on the opening day of the 2004-05 season. He never registered another goal for Brighton and was on loan at Lincoln City a little over a year later.
Mitoma seems unlikely to end up at Sincil Bank by the autumn of 2023. But he, Enciso and Undav all need to proof themselves against better opposition than Estoril and Reading. Be excited yes, but do not think they are going to lead the Albion to the Champions League… yet.
Reading are not very good
Brighton being totally dominant comes with a caveat that Reading were shocking. Hardly a surprise given that the year is 2022 and Paul Ince remains a Championship manager, despite having achieved nothing since leading MK Dons to the League Two title in 2008.
Other than 90 more minutes in the tank, you do wonder what the Albion gain by playing such mediocre opponents. Hopefully, Espanyol can provide a tougher test at the Amex next weekend in the final warm up match before the Premier League season gets underway.
For supporters, it was hardly a great experience either. The Albion took 1,100 fans, meaning travelling fans outnumbered the home support. Yet another reminder that Reading are a plastic club in a soulless stadium.
Paul Barber has long talked about taking Brighton on a pre-season tour to the United States, making the most of the Albion’s sponsorship deals with American Express and Nike. It looks like it could finally happen in 2023, presuming monkey pox has not put the world in another lockdown.
Whether Brighton go Stateside or not, we have one simple request for the Albion to consider when making their friendly schedule for next season – please don’t send us to Reading. Ever again.
(Narrator: Brighton would go onto draw Reading away in the second round of the League Cup and the third round of the FA Cup)
