Brighton and Hove Albion is again lamenting a lack of finish after a controlling but scoreless draw with Leeds United at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
One of the division’s best at defending, Brighton has scored just 12 times this season and is winless in eight-straight Premier League matches including a trio of 0-0 draws.
WATCH BRIGHTON vs LEEDS FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM – LINK
The Seagulls have been blanked five times this young(ish) season and sit eighth with 18 points, five back of the top four.
Leeds end Saturday just three points clear of 18th-place Burnley and 19th-place Norwich City, six clear of bottom-dwelling Newcastle United.
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Brighton vs Leeds final score, stats
Final score: Brighton and Hove Albion 0, Leeds United 0
Shot attempts: Brighton, 20-11
Shots on goal: Even 4-4
Possession: Brighton 58%
Three things we learned from Brighton vs Leeds
1. Brighton still need a finisher: If Graham Potter’s mind won the managerial tete-a-tete with Marcelo Bielsa, his recruitment team failed the personnel duel in providing a finisher. Neal Maupay is perfectly fine as a Premier League contributor and absolutely demolishes Champions League defenses, but the midfield masterclass given by Yves Bissouma as a part of Brighton’s 3-5-2 deserved so much better than the game being in the balance late, let alone a 0-0 draw. The fact that Maupay was pulled for Jurgen Locadia, who couldn’t do much at FC Cincinnati of all places, shows that Brighton’s leadership may waste the Potter era by not splashing money on a center forward, and soon. Because of all this, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s brilliant late saves meant one point, not three, was preserved by the Seagulls.
2. Leeds may be a genuine fourth team in the relegation fight: There is so much talent on Bielsa’s side, led by elite guns Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, but the once “too easy” theory that the team runs out of legs is rearing its head again and we’re just one-third of the way into the season. Bielsa’s men have the required talent to stay up and you’d pick them in eight out of 10 games against Norwich City, Newcastle, and Burnley, but there sits Leeds just above the bottom three after a sample size that is starting to look bigger and bigger.
3. Midfield shows off Brighton’s recruitment: Look at the three players in the middle of Potter’s 3-5-2 and their price tags. Ex-Barcelona man Marc Cucurella came from Getafe for about $20 million as the biggest buy of the bunch with Yves Bissouma just behind him (2018-19 from Lille for under $19M). Then there’s Jakub Moder (2020-21 , Lech Poznan, $12M), Pascal Gross (2017-18, $3.3M, Ingolstadt), and Tariq Lamptey (2019-20, Chelsea, $3.6M). That’s, roughly, a combined $70 million for five men who dictated much of this game and produced chances worthy of winning three points. Leeds spent more than that on three players -- Daniel James, Raphinha, and Rodrigo -- but how far can that go if the ball rarely gets to them? James had 18 touches up top as the game hit the 81st minute, and no one else in the front four, adding in Jack Harrison, had touched it more than 43 times to that point.
Man of the Match: Marc Cucurella
Illan Meslier had several saves for Leeds including a terrific late collection off the post, but the two wide men In Brighton’s midfield dominated the proceedings. We’ll tip our cap to Cucurella over Lamptey if only because the former went the distance, but either deserves a shout if not full-blown plaudits.
