Albion Analytics: Pascal Gross hits 200 appearances

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The German has been an ever-present for Albion this campaign.

Liam Tharme

Albion Analytics

2023-03-17T11:00:00Z

Pascal Gross has started every Premier League game for Albion so far this season.

Pascal Gross made his 200th Brighton appearance in the 1-0 win at home to Crystal Palace.

The versatile German, Albion’s first permanent signing as a Premier League club, has the second-most league appearances (180) of any Brighton player since promotion in 2017. Only club captain Lewis Dunk (197) has more.

Gross ranks fourth in Brighton’s Premier League scoring charts (23) but is the current top scorer at the club and just three goals away from joint-record holders Glenn Murray and Neal Maupay (26). He is untouchable in terms of assists, though, with 31, well clear of second-placed Solly March (17) and it means Gross has the most direct goal involvements (goals plus assists - 54) for Brighton in the Premier League.

He has multiple goals and multiple assists in all six Premier League seasons, with this campaign the third time (15 in 2017/18, 11 in 2020/21) he has reached double digits for goals plus assists. There is still one-third of the season to play, with Gross (7) just one away from matching his best goals tally in a Premier League campaign (8 in 2017/18).

“Gross is used to scoring and is used to staying in the best position to score, to give the last pass, to attack the space,” said head coach Roberto De Zerbi in November, after he netted the winner at Wolves.

On his double century game, he completed 42 of 51 passes, with Moises Caicedo (61/67) attempting and completing more among Brighton’s midfield. Nobody could better his three chances created or 21 final third passes attempted - his ability to dictate play close to the opposition goal and carve out chances for teammates has remained unparalleled.

SofaScore’s algorithm rates Gross as Brighton’s top player (average rating) this season. He is having his best individual season in terms of, per game, touches (70.9), passes attempted and completed (63.7 and 49.5), completing a higher proportion of passes than ever before (77.7%, was 68.1% in his first season), while having his highest per-game average for progressive passes (7.1, 4.7 in first season).

He has completed nine through balls this season, the joint-most for Brighton and only one away from Gross’s most in a Premier League season (10 in 2017-18).

Gross has played 96.8% of possible minutes this Premier League season, his highest involvement rate in the Premier League. Those have come scattered across a variety of positions, with the German having played left-back, wing-back and in a central midfield pairing already under De Zerbi — remember he was signed and played as a number 10, shadow striker in his debut season and has played all possible midfield roles in multiple shapes.

Any suggestion that Gross is declining with age is refuted by the data. He ranks inside the top 10% of European midfielders (top five leagues) across the past year for, per 90 minutes, non-penalty goals (0.25), expected assists (0.27) and shot-creating actions (3.98), touches in the opposition box (2.93) and progressive passes received (5.89).