Credit: The Brighton Base
Brighton cruised to their fifth victory in their last six matches with a 2-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
Mats Wieffer emerged as the hero at Turf Moor, bagging a brace to help his side move firmly into the race for European football.
The Dutchman opened the scoring after 43 minutes when steering his left-footed strike beyond Martin Dubravka after Pascal Gross drove his cross towards the edge of the penalty area.
But the Seagulls were slow out of the blocks after the restart, and they almost handed Burnley a lifeline back into the game when Bart Verbruggen failed to deal with a cross, allowing Bashir Humphries to convert from close range.
However, the Clarets’ celebrations were short-lived, with VAR ruling out that the defender was offside.
Brighton continued to struggle to put the game to bed, and it took Fabian Hurzeler’s side until the 89th minute to ensure they would return to the Sussex coast with all three points.
After Kaoru Mitoma won possession inside the Burnley area, the ball ricocheted off of Yasin Ayari and into the path of Wieffer, who strode forward and placed his effort into the bottom corner to send the travelling Brighton faithful into a frenzy.
The Brighton Base reflects on how Hurzeler’s side fared at Turf Moor…
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**Bart Verbruggen – 7**
The Dutchman was forced to make five saves en route to securing his eighth clean sheet of the campaign. Looked to go long on occasions, but without consistent success.
**Mats Wieffer – 9**
Showed great composure to find the back of the net on both occasions. Wasn’t particularly involved in Brighton’s build-up but kept his play generally neat and tidy. Remained defensively solid with six tackles, especially late on.
**Jan Paul van Hecke – 6**
Led by example in the absence of Lewis Dunk in defence. Wasn’t able to truly influence the contest but kept his cool after being booked just minutes into the second half for a rash challenge on Jaidon Anthony.
**Olivier Boscagli – 7**
Proved his worth with a well-rounded performance. The Frenchman was at the heart of Brighton’s build-up in deep areas, and he rose to the occasion with his defensive work up against some physical, boisterous opponents.
**Ferdi Kadioglu – 6**
Played an important but quiet role in the contest. The Turkey international resisted the urges to push on, allowing Yankuba Minteh the time and space to make his presence felt. Instead, Kadioglu’s defensive work came to the fore with four tackles and three clearances.
**Yasin Ayari – 6**
Slotted in effortlessly to replace James Milner in the heart of Hurzeler’s midfield. Swept up plenty of danger whilst moving the ball onto his attacking-minded teammates efficiently. Was fortunate to record an assist for Wieffer’s second.
**Pascal Gross – 9**
Simply ran the show at Turf Moor. Linked up well with Minteh and Diego Gomez on either flank, whilst dictating the tempo of the contest when there wasn’t the option to move possession forward. Made an afternoon’s work look effortless.
**Jack Hinshelwood – 6 (Baleba, 75’)**
Not his most influential performance. Squandered chances to open the scoring early on when snatching at his strike before failing to read opportunities by opting against attacking runs towards the six-yard box. Nevertheless, he remains an important player in Brighton’s current set-up.
**Diego Gomez – 5 (Veltman, 88)**
Most right-backs would have struggled to deal with Minteh on the day, but his creativity also highlighted weaknesses in Gomez’s game. There are no doubts over his defensive work and immense engine, but there is a tendency for his attacking input to fizzle out as a match wears on. On this occasion, it was lacking from the get-go.
**Yankuba Minteh – 8 (Mitoma, 80’)**
A defender’s nightmare. The Gambia international consistently had the beating of Humphries, who simply could not deal with his electric turn of pace, and although his end product went astray at times, his chances were frequently self-made.
**Danny Welbeck – 5 (Rutter, 75’)**
Forced three saves from Dubravka, but the England international will certainly feel he should be returning to the south coast with another goal to his name. Completed 10 of his 11 attempted passes, which only further underlines how he struggled to truly impose himself on the contest.
**Substitutes**
**Carlos Baleba – 6**
Sniffed out danger twice late on, but his role largely centred around tracking runners and preventing Burnley from getting numbers forward.
**Georginio Rutter – 6**
Added energy to Brighton’s frontline both in the press and when looking to get in behind the Clarets’ backline.
**Kaoru Mitoma – 6**
Battled well to win back possession for the second goal. Wasn’t offered the opportunity to have a greater impact than that.
**Joel Veltman – N/A**