Player Ratings: Brighton 1-1 Fulham

A closer look at Fulham's opening fixture on the South Coast.

The new Premier League season is finally underway, and after some underwhelming business in the summer transfer window thus far, Fulham’s opening fixture against Brighton would prove to be a good indicator as to where we stand with our current squad; shortcomings, strengths and bright new prospects shining through. Let’s dive into how our players stood up individually to the first test of the campaign as we left the South Coast with a last-gasp point-saving triumph.

Bernd Leno

Brilliant game by Leno today; consistent and reliable as always, he was hard-done by being faced by a perfectly-placed penalty by Matt O’ Riley having also dived the right way to almost prevent him. Strong, commanding, and got away with spilling the ball from one long-ranged shot that we’ll chalk down as a strong save rather than an error! Great to see the German shot-stopper back in-between the sticks again. 7.5/10

Kenny Tete

I love the annual battle between one of Brighton’s unstoppable forces on the wing in Kaoru Mitoma and our Dutch brick wall at right-back. I feel like he nailed it today, only being dribbled past once and achieving a passing accuracy of 97%, he proved to be reliable on and off the ball. 7.5/10

Joachim Andersen

A good performance from our defence as a whole today and Andersen was particularly strong, with good decision-making, short and long ball distribution with stats to back it up. He shines through in games where teams don’t have quite as much pace through the centre and managed to keep Georginio Rutter at bay for the most part. 7/10

Jorge Cuenca

Cuenca may feel a little hard done by given his lack of game-time last season, but he’s always been very reliable particularly as he was often thrown into games against top opposition. A decent outing for the Spaniard that saw him play a more passive role, but he did what was required of him. He would have most likely dispossessed or shielded out Georginio Rutter had contact not been made with him prior for the penalty. 6.5/10

Calvin Bassey

As much as I love Ryan Sessegnon, I feel we all prefer to see him higher up the wing in a more creative role and I feel a little un-eased with him in defence, so seeing Bassey starting at left-back was a real eyebrow-raiser and he absolutely smashed it. Using his brute strength to shut the door on Yankuba Minteh, who’s known for his speed, was such a joy to watch. Despite his massive stature, Calvin still has bags of speed to boot. Absolutely proving his worth as Fulham’s Player of the Season and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again! His overall tenacity, and drive to bring the ball up the pitch in possession too added a dynamism to our play that puts the crown on this player for me. 8/10 - Man of the match

Sander Berge

A decent performance by Berge as he commanded the middle of the pitch and safeguarded the ball in high-pressure areas with an excellent passing range. Everyone will have their own opinion, but I felt the penalty was a little harsh, it appeared as if Sander’s challenge garnered slight contact with the ball and Georginio made a meal of it. Having said that, Berge should have know better than to put in such a strong challenge, especially when there was some defensive cover in front of the striker. It was horrible to see Brighton win another penalty at The AmEx against us and felt like the deciding moment of the match, that was of course until a certain Brazilian had other ideas at the end. 6/10

Sasa Lukic

Defensively, I felt this was a pretty average Lukic performance compared to what we’ve become used to, he lost 6/10 ground duels, committed five fouls and didn't suceed in any tackles. However his 95% passing accuracy and the huge distance he covered across the pitch, creating the odd chance too, shows his work ethic is as astute as ever, and ability to progress play and retain possession is probably why Silva opted to leave him on for the full 90 over Berge. 6.5/10

Josh King

I really enjoyed this performance by Josh today, it was bold of Marco Silva to start him in such a crucial clash and he absolutely rose to the challenge. His energy and willingness to receive the ball and take players on was really refreshing, a kind of boldness we’ve lacked from certain other attacking midfielders of recent times. While it didn’t always pay off, and he quietened down as the match progressed, he really looked like he could be the game-changer and his risk taking will eventually pay off if he continues in this manner. Let’s not forget this kid is 18-years-old, and could be a near-future Fulham superstar! 7/10

Harry Wilson

With the least touches of any outfield player on the pitch for the full ninety minutes, this performance backed up the theory that sometimes Wilson can have more impact and dynamism coming off the bench. With a fantastic end of campaign and pre-season under his belt, he completely warranted his starting spot today, but I felt he was a little less effective and it’ll be interesting to see how this pans out going into United and Chelsea next. Fulham need one more winger added to the ranks and with Kevin and Reiss Nelson circling in the rumour-mill, we should have solid options out wide to accompany Harry in what I anticipate will be a great season for the Welshman should he stay injury-free. 6/10

Alex Iwobi

Some bright spells in possession and as usual looked after the ball well with some good moments of creativity with some nice link-ups with Josh King. Was right to be subbed off when he was to inject more pace into the match as we aimed to penetrate Brighton’s defence with a little more urgency. 6/10

Raul Jiménez

Not a performance to remember for Raul, who lost the most ground and aerial duels of the match (0/8) and failed to land a shot on target, reinforcing our need to keep hold of Rodrigo Muniz and sign a third forward for some much-needed contingency and legacy planning. Raul has a lot to offer, just look at that free kick against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. But I think given his age, it’s time to pave the way for different options to transition to over time. 5/10

Substitutes

Adama Traore 66’ (Subbed on for Alex Iwobi)
A decent cameo off the bench. Brighton proved hard to breakdown as they kept a rigid structure at the back, but Adama was able to exploit a few pockets of space to progress play. 6/10

Rodrigo Muniz 66’ (Subbed on for Raul Jiménez)
What looked like a largely uneventful appearance from the in-demand Muniz turned on it’s head in the 96th minute, as Rodrigo calmly anticipated the ball reaching the back-stick to control it and finish to absolute perfection. Football is all about moments, and Muniz took his chance to steal the headlines and send Fulham fans home in jubilation. It was such a special celebration, one that I hope we can enjoy time and time again this season and not as a final farewell. 7.5/10

Tom Cairney 66’ (Subbed on for Sander Berge)
Didn’t really have much impact, but offered a fresh pair of legs and a potential source of creativity against a Brighton side that was hard to crack. We’re all glad to see him for one more year and there will be moments his calmness and ability will be important, but today wasn’t really one of them. 5.5/10

Emile Smith Rowe 77’ (Subbed on for Josh King)
Probably warranted a slightly longer appearance and looked like he could be the one to unlock something in the latter stages of the game. His deflected curling effort almost found the corner of the net and the resulting set-piece proved to be the deciding factor in the match’s outcome. 6.5/10

Timothy Castagne 84’ (Subbed on for Jorge Cuenca)
Didn’t play long enough to rate, but good to see him back out on the pitch after his surgery last season and great to have both Right Backs fighting fit.

Marco Silva
Given the squad options he had at his disposal I think Marco’s done really well here. Dropping Bassey into left-back was a strong decision, and his substitutes just about saved the day. You could argue that Muniz should have started from the get-go, but with all of the noise surrounding him you can’t blame Silva for rewarding Raul’s loyalty and focus particularly with the uncertainty around Rodrigo. While we may be a little disappointed with the draw, Brighton fans will be even more so, and with the penalty going against us a little, this could have looked like a different outcome. Good to get a solid point at a tough ground on the first day and hopefully with a couple of signings in the nearish future, we can build on this. 7/10