Well it wasn’t a classic trip up and down the M23 as Albion’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace falls rather flat.
They looked leggy, in fairness to them. On the back of a difficult European fixture, many would’ve been surprised if Palace played with their usual intensity that Oliver Glasner has painfully gotten so right of late.
There were some positives, and some negatives… so what did we learn for my first piece back from a longer than expected break?!
Oh, Georgi…
Put simply, it was a dive wasn’t it? I have to admit, from my unsold ‘restricted view’ in the away end, I was convinced of a penalty as a cluster of Palace players appeared to run into Georginio Rutter. Frustratingly, it was a good piece of play in the build up, and a glimpse of the level of quality that the Frenchman possesses when he ‘wants to’. Breaking through the press after a well-timed challenge to win the ball back initially, it felt like something was about to happen.
Of all things to do in that situation, especially with the VAR technology football has now, why would you go down like that? Poor decision making, and ultimately summed up Georgi’s day. Mentions of his missing of former partner João Pedro when goals are required are clear to see when discussing Georginio. He’s an instrumental player to Fabian Hürzeler’s side, and capable of winning games or setting up vital goals, just like we saw against Leeds last week. His hunt for a goal continues, and leads the question over who takes charge of the goals if Danny Welbeck isn’t firing?
Bart’s coming good!
Another good performance from Albion’s Dutch goalkeeper, as Bart Verbruggen made vital saves and followed with the Seagulls’ first back-to-back clean sheet since February. Questions have been made over Verbruggen in goal, by myself included, but even after recent defeats to Manchester United, he has shone with big saves.
The lesser focus on goalkeepers’ build up play mitigates distribution mistakes in a better way than previously, and cuts out that concern to an extent. One thing is for sure, his confidence in shot stopping is certainly improving.
For the stats nerds, the numbers back him up too. His last five games before the November international break have shown improvements in his save percentage. For those who are not into their numbers, this is based on saves he has made to shots faced. Verbruggen sits at 76.2% in his last five games, compared to approximately 60% for 2024/25.
Overall, a good reason to be positive about our number one.
We’re stable, but are we competing?
The Crystal Palace game plan worked… pretty well? The set up seemed to have an added element of stability in comparison to previous game weeks, and since outrage occurred after the Arsenal and Manchester United games, it seems as though Albion have fallen into somewhat calmness.
Stability in defence has been one of the bigger struggles for Brighton in recent years, especially when it comes to defensive organisation and shape on and off the ball. The set up was better, and heading into the first half there was a confidence that this game was there for the taking. Brighton haven’t beaten Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park since 2019 [not 2018 like a certain lukewarm post this week!], when Anthony Knockaert whipped a worldie into the top left corner. The desire and hunger had to improve from last season’s bitter results, as Palace didn’t only do the double, but also lift two trophies.
As aforementioned, Palace were fatigued, and that should be there for the taking. Whilst I wouldn’t be angry at a draw with our biggest rivals, there is always that haunting part that you simply have to win your rival games. Mentality has levelled out, really. I wouldn’t really look at this club at the moment and think about European nights, in brutal honesty. It doesn’t mean to say we can’t and won’t make that goal, however. In some respects, it feels like that ambition may have just fizzled out a touch across the fanbase.
Having the break away from this world has probably been timed for good, in a very horrible way. I didn’t want to be gone, but it did allow me to just watch Albion play football matches with zero media responsibilities for the first time in about a decade. With that comes the feeling of being a fan, and being a fan unlocks a whole different way of viewing a game of football. You can look at performances and statistics, but you also feel the context and meaning behind those numbers and highlights.
A draw is fine, but it could’ve been more. The Leeds result was a necessary one in this run. We’re stable, but are we competing?
