Brighton got their first point of the season after a 0-0 draw away at Watford. Brighton should have won the game as they had the extra man for 65 minutes after Britos was sent off for Watford 25 minutes into the game. Below, I rate The Albion squad out of ten and pick a man of the match.
Matt Ryan,7– The Australian goalkeeper has made a couple of mistakes in his first couple of games in the Premier League. In today’s game he turned a corner, as although he didn’t have to make many saves, he was commanding throughout the game and seems to have spent time improving this to try and deter any doubts anybody has about him as Brighton’s number one.
Bruno,5– The captain seemed to be struggling to deal with Richarlison in the first half of the game. He was booked in the 10th minute and made another foul towards the end of the first half to give him a final warning. He was then substituted at half time to avoid levelling out the numbers.
Lewis Dunk, 9– For me the man of the match from today’s game. He kept Andre Gray very quiet and denied him the chance to make it 1-0 in the first half by clearing his effort off the line from a corner. He took the captain’s armband in the second half and lead by example by trying to get Brighton on the front foot. He made an impressive 55-yard diagonal driven pass out to the right flank which landed on the foot of Anthony Knockaert, that’s how precise it was. For me, he has adapted superbly to Premier League football and seems at home in the top flight of English football.
Shane Duffy,8– Alongside Dunk, Duffy was superb as he won a massive amount of headers, especially from corners to snuff out the aerial route for Watford. He also got involved and made some superb tackles. He was also a threat from corners going forward and created chances by getting his head on the ball from a number of set pieces.
Markus Suttner,7– The left back bounced back after a poor performance against Leicester last week. He got forward and put in some good deliveries which deserved to be finished. He also did well defensively and seems to be adjusting to the English game.
Knockaert,8– The Frenchman had a great first Premier League appearance. His pace and skill saw him getting the better of Britos and caused him to be sent off. He was instrumental and was causing problems for the Watford defence. His performance deserved a goal but Gomes denied him that with a couple of good saves. For me, the only reason he was not my man of the match is because he was substituted, which he did not deserve to be but an exciting start from the winger.
Davy Propper,5– The Dutch midfielder has not had the best of starts since joining Brighton. He took way too many touches and just seems overwhelmed in the midfield. I think given a bit of time to adapt to the English game and he will be fine but at the minute he may be lucky to start Brighton’s next game.
Dale Stephens,8– The central midfielder was terrific. He tracked back and made some great tackles and interceptions. He also was great going forward, he threaded through passes to create chances for Brighton. To me, he was right up there with some of their best players but just missed out being my man of the match to Dunk.
Solly March,7– The winger had a great game as like Knockaert on the other side of the pitch he caused the Watford defence problems. He put in some good crosses and got into great areas on the pitch and has been great for Brighton so far this season. For me he will be a key player for The Albion this season if he continues to show the form he has already this season.
Pascal Gross,6– The number 10 made some good runs behind the defence and was constantly on the move in the Watford half. He also made some good interceptions and tried his best to create chances. My only worry is his physicality as he got knocked off the ball far too easy at times.
Tomer Hemed,6– For me he wasn’t as clinical as he could have been, he had four chances of which he should have scored one and came very close when he hit the post in the first half. To me, if Glenn Murray was playing he may have taken one of those chances.
Substitutes:
Liam Rosenior,5– The full back came on in the second half and did what he needed to which was keep Richarlison quiet and get forward when possible, which he did well.
Jose Izquierdo, 5– The club record signing only had 10 minutes off the bench on his debut and he almost put Brighton ahead, when he cut inside from 30 yards and put an effort a yard wide of the right-hand post. He also did a great piece of tracking back to stop a great counter attack from Watford, a promising start from the Colombian.
Jamie Murphy- Only played five minutes so hard to give him a rating.
