Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton: Player ratings as Super Mac rescues Albion
The identity of the two players who prop up our Brighton & Hove Albion player ratings for the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace will come as a surprise to nobody given the course that Sunday afternoon at Selhurst Park took.
Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay were the two lowest ranked Seagulls on show. Which is to be expected as the strikers in a side who had 66 percent possession, took 19 shots but only put three of those on target on their way to scraping a point via a 90th minute equaliser from a substitute midfielder.
At the other end of the scale, it was the new-look central midfield partnership of Ben White and Yves Bissouma who impressed to take the top two spots.
White’s selection over Steve Alzate was not without controversy given that the Colombian midfielder has impressed so far this season, but it was fully justified as White gave probably his best performance as a Premier League player to date.
Alexis Mac Allister secured third place despite being on for just 12 minutes, a sign of just how important scoring for Brighton against Crystal Palace is – especially when it is a late leveller to rescue a 1-1 draw.
Here are the full player ratings for Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion.
Maty Ryan – 6.00
Palace were so woeful that the goalkeeper’s only real action of note was to pick Wilfried Zaha’s confidently despatched penalty out the back of the net.
Adam Webster – 6.14
After a couple of shaky games, this was a return to the sort of form that he showed post-lockdown. Might have scored higher had some supporters not apportioned blame for Tariq Lamptey conceding the penalty to him.
Lewis Dunk – 5.57
It has been a while since we saw a braindead red card from the Brighton captain. Not sure what he was thinking when he launched into a two-footed lunge on Gary Cahill, but it continued his below par start to the season compared to the ridiculously high standards he has set in three years as a Premier League defender.
Dan Burn – 6.29
Being the highest scoring Brighton player in the ratings for the 1-1 draw at Palace justified Graham Potter handing him his first Premier League start of the season. Perhaps should have stopped the cross which led to the penalty but having his height when defending set pieces meant that their was no goal conceded from a corner or free kick for once.
Tariq Lamptey – 6.14
Whilst the penalty decision against him was a farce, a more experienced defender might have kept his hands down completely to avoid giving Michy Batshuayi any excuse to go to ground. He should learn from the experience.
Ben White – 7.00
Potter sprung a surprise by starting him in the centre of the park. It proved to be an excellent decision as he put his range of passing to great use and came close to scoring in the first half with an effort driven just wide of the post.
YVES BISSOUMA – 7.14
It was at Selhurst Park last year where the Malian first showed what he could do when trusted to fulfil a defensive midfield role. Since that 1-1 draw, he has come on leaps and bounds and this was the latest performance that highlighted why he is now one of the first names on the team sheet.
Solly March – 6.29
Caused plenty of problems down the left to continue his impressive start to the season. Provided one moment of comedy when falling theatrically over his own leg in the Palace box in the second half – although given the fact that Stuart Attwell seemed to be conned by ridiculous dives on a number of occasions, it was probably worth a try.
Adam Lallana – 6.14
The one Brighton player who looked like he might be able to turn the Albion’s possession into something a little more meaningful. His through ball to Maupay for the chance which the Frenchman inexplicably checked back on was a masterclass in how to perfectly play and weight a pass.
Leandro Trossard – 5.43
Never got into the game which was a real shame given the form he has been in so far in 2020-21. His score of 5.43 put him bottom of the ratings.
Neal Maupay – 5.57
Two chances which a £20 million centre forward should be scoring. The one where he cut back rather than taking a shot on against Vicente Guaita was criminal – and the sort of opportunity which new signing Danny Welbeck would have been licking his lips at.
Aaron Connolly – 5.14
The Irishman had an interesting international break in which he was mistakenly told he had sat next to someone with Covid-19 and then picked up a whack which looked like it would rule him out of the trip to Selhurst. All that drama was probably behind Potter’s decision to name him on the bench and although he struggled to make much headway when introduced in the 78th minute, he did play a part in Mac Allister’s equaliser.
Alexis Mac Allister – 6.57
If there is a way for a Brighton player to score his first league goal for the club, then netting a 90th minute equaliser against Crystal Palace is it – and that is why the Heir to Messi came third in our player ratings despite being on the pitch for only 12 minutes.
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.
