Brighton & Hove Albion extended their winless streak in the Premier League to eight games after being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Leeds United on Saturday.
Brighton were left to rue their missed chances as they were held to a draw by Leeds United despite dominating the game at Amex Stadium on Saturday night. The hosts were on top in the first half, with Leandro Trossard and Jakub Moder hitting the crossbar. Neal Maupay also blew two good opportunities to hand Brighton the lead in his first start in over a month.
Leeds lacked attacking fluency, with Raphinha and Rodrigo seeing little possession. They came close through a long-range shot by Stuart Dallas, which was deflected by Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. The home side missed some glorious chances after that and created better opportunities in the second half but lacked the cutting edge to back their attractive football.
Illan Meslier made an outstanding save late in the game, parrying Solly March’s low strike off the post. Brighton were also grateful to their own goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who produced a couple of excellent saves from Tyler Roberts as Leeds looked for a smash-and-grab win. Brighton were fairly impressive on the day as they mustered 20 shots but were left frustrated as they drew for the sixth time in their 13 league games.
The result moves Brighton up to eighth in the table above Manchester United with 18 points, while Leeds remain 17th, three points clear of the relegation zone. The Hard Tackle will now run the rule over Marcelo Bielsa’s men after what has to be considered as one point gained from the South Coast, which could prove vital towards the end of the season.
Illan Meslier: 8/10
? @MeslierIllan produced 4️⃣ vital saves as @LUFC drew with Brighton in the @premierleague. #LUFC #MOT pic.twitter.com/W4h8HB39cC
— Leeds United StatZone (@lufcsz) November 27, 2021
Meslier was called into action multiple times on the day and bagged a deserved clean sheet. He denied Leandro Trossard with a brilliant fingertip save while he also diverted Solly March’s deflected strike over the bar and swept away another close-range effort from the wing-back. His distribution was fairly decent as he took his time on the ball to release the pressure on his side.
Stuart Dallas: 6/10
Dallas got Leeds’s first shot on goal, which was saved by Sanchez. He played all over the field and was effective in every position. At the end of the game, it is fair to say it was not an easy night for him with Tariq Lamptey constantly troubling him. But his versatility was an asset to Leeds.
Diego Llorente: 6/10
Llorente did not close down Leandro Trossard in the first half when he was forced to play as a right-back. When he shifted into the heart of the Leeds defence, the Spaniard did not get any closer to Neal Maupay. Brighton’s attacking impetus was met well, and he will be satisfied with his team’s clean sheet.
Liam Cooper: 6.5/10
Cooper did not struggle as much as central defensive partner Llorente, but he has had better displays than this. The Leeds captain was beaten a couple of times by Lamptey, and the ball bounced off his arm in a brief scare, although a penalty was never going to be given. He was strong aerially, especially in set-piece situations.
Junior Firpo: 4/10
Firpo had a torrid first-half and was run ragged by Tariq Lamptey from the opening whistle. He was booked early on, and it was a tough battle against a very speedy wing-back. He was rightly taken off at half-time after struggling to get to grips with Lamptey on his flank.
Kalvin Phillips: 5.5/10
Brighton had plenty of space in midfield, and Phillips was unable to make an impact. His passing percentage was low, which is uncharacteristic for him. He started as a centre-back and then shifted to central midfield but did not perform well in either position. He was apparently taken off due to a minor injury concern. Overall, it was a poor performance from the England international.
Adam Forshaw: 6.5/10
Forshaw got in the action, making five tackles but failed to keep hold of possession and showed no quality with the ball at his feet. He was combative, but Leeds’s system was presenting him with a lack of passing options.
Rodrigo: 4/10
Quite anonymous. He had one chance on the edge of the penalty box, which he blazed into the stands. There was a lack of service, but he did not let his head drop and kept demanding the ball. Rodrigo dropped into some decent spaces, but his first touch and passing were off. The link-up play with Raphinha was nowhere to be found.
Raphinha: 5.5/10
It was a really poor game by his high standard that everyone is used to. To be fair, Raphinha just did not see much of the ball during the 90 minutes and struggled to work his magic. A shift to the right did not improve his fortunes, but he will certainly be disappointed.
Daniel James: 5/10
James had no impact whatsoever on the game and was once again ineffective in a striker role, which really does not work for him. He was also weak at pressing from the front as Adam Webster and Lewis Drunk bombed forward at will.
Jack Harrison: 5/10
His poor early pass got Firpo booked, setting the tone for another disappointing game. Clearly lacking in confidence and failed to capitalise on any opportunities. His passing is sluggish; there is no running at the defenders, with his game riddled with poor first touches and no tracking-back to help out Firpo against Lamptey. He was easily shut down by Joel Veltman and is woefully out of form at the moment.
SUBSTITUTES
Jamie Shackleton: 6/10
On his first appearance since October, he delivered a decent performance. Shackleton was charged for obstructing a counter-attack and was fortunate to have one erroneous back-pass pass go unpunished. He looked a bit rusty after some time out.
Pascal Struijk: 7/10
Bielsa introduced Struijk at the start of the second half, replacing Kalvin Phillips as a part of double tactical substitution. He gave the visitors a stronger foothold in midfield and passed the ball more effectively, making Leeds look more potent in the second half.
Tyler Roberts: 7/10
Tyler Roberts vs. Brighton:
27 minutes
16 touches
7/7 successful passes
5 ball recoveries
4 shots
4 penalty box touches
3 shots on-target
3 duels won
2 times fouled
1/1 successful take-on
1/1 accurate long passPlayed a huge role in getting Leeds into the game. #LUFC pic.twitter.com/5DeGeVJpvV
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) November 27, 2021
Roberts tried to make an immediate impact as he got in behind the opposition defence to test Robert Sanchez with a low shot. He was bright and carried a lot of threat. He again went close, but the Brighton goalkeeper was equal to it. He was easily Leeds’s best offensive player on the night.
