Summary
The Albion are all but safe, securing a vital point against the Saints. Brighton have now reached 37 points, one more than last years’ total.
A left-footed shot from Neal Maupay in the first half gave
the Seagulls the lead. Glenn Murray, who returned to the starting eleven,
flicked it on, and the Frenchman’s finish was sublime.
Southampton were static, with their two forwards receiving little
service. It was Brighton instead who had the chances, with Murray,
Propper, and Maupay all having cracks at goal.
The second half saw the Saints improve drastically, and they were knocking on the door. Ings would hit the post and Dunk superbly blocked a shot on the line.
But, their clinical forward would eventually equalize, beating Maty Ryan one-on-one. The ball was slipped in behind Tarik Lamptey, who couldn't intercept the pass.
The Albion created very little in the second half themselves, bar a shot from Yves Bissouma that went agonizingly wide.
Later, an incredible rocket from Jannik Vestergaard was brilliantly
tipped onto the crossbar by Ryan. He certainly silenced his critics with a
solid performance. As did Adam Wesbter, who was also effective in defense and continued
late, even with an injury.
It was an all-around inspiring performance from the Albion, scoring early and
holding on late. Heroic defending from our back five and clever work up front
has surely been enough to keep us up.
Tactics
Tactically, Potter went with 5-3-2. Burn returned to left centre-back and March came in at left wing-back.
Trossard floated around the middle of the park, with Dale Stephens and Davy Propper around him.
A rare start for Glenn Murray meant that he would join forces with Maupay up top, and it was their link-up play that led to our only goal.
The second half did see us shift eventually to a back four, but only once regaining the lead seemed out of reach. We created very little, and only had a few counter-attacks to catch our breath.
Nevertheless, a solid performance on both sides of the pitch. The kind of result we needed to secure our safety.
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