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One fine goal, one assist but this is the Gruda stat which might please his boss most

But that might not be the only stat which interest his Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler.

The on-loan midfielder shone as RB Leipzig had to settle for a 2-2 draw at home to Wolfsburg having trailed twice.

Gruda failed to beat former Huddersfield and Liverpool goalkeeper Kamil Grabara with a great chance in the first half after being sent through on his left foot.

But he intercepted a poor pass by Grabara and teed up a simple chance for Yan Diomande to score the first equaliser.

He then grabbed the late point-saver with a fine finish into the top corner on 89 minutes.

The ball broke to him in the box, slightly to the right of goal, amid a chaotic penalty area.

But he had the vision and composure to guide a delightful curler high past Grabara.

Gruda, operating in his preferred No.10 role, was most people’s choice for man of the match.

He had a team-high four shots and was clearly an important player for his side.

But the number which might have caught Hurzeler’s attention is that he covered more distance than any other player in his team.

Gruda ran 12.7km during the match, according to stats put out by the Bundesliga.

The only player to top that was a man with a strong background in the demands of the Premier League.

Former Spurs, Manchester United and Brentford man Christian Eriksen put in 13.3 km for the visitors.

Gruda was also leading the distance covered chart in his side’s 2-1 win at Koln with 10.2km before making way on 82 minutes.

He followed that with a brief outing off the bench in a cup tie with Bayern before his busy day against Wolfsburg.

The quest for more playing time appears to have been successful so far but Gruda was disappointed with the latest result.

He said: “It's a frustrating result for us. We conceded two unnecessary goals.

“The fact that we came back to make it 2-2 is good, but our aim was to take all three points."

Head coach said Ole Werner added: “Brajan could have scored in the first half already. He was a real asset for us today.

"The point doesn't reflect the performance we put in, as it should have been three.

“Based solely on the performance alone, it was one of our best games over the last few weeks. I was pleased with the manner in which we created chances for ourselves.

Gruda not play in Albion’s pre-season friendly against Wolfsburg in August but scored his last goal against them in the Bundesliga before joining the Seagulls.

Leipzig face Dortmund on Saturday.

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