Albion shared the spoils with Newcastle in a tense affair at St James’ Park, and there were plenty of reasons for encouragement after a dominant display on Tyneside.
1. Alzate’s man-of-the-match debut display
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Steven Alzate put in a very impressive man-of-the-match performance on his Premier League debut against Newcastle, looking right at home on the left-hand side of a four-man midfield.
The 21-year-old replaced the injured Solly March in the line-up and caught the eye early on, after his corner almost forced Jamaal Lascelles to divert the ball into his own net.
The midfielder thought he had capped off a memorable day with a goal, as he clinically headed in a Pascal Gross cross, but was denied by the linesman’s flag. On Saturday’s evidence, Albion fans will very much be looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the former Leyton Orient starlet.
2. Stat’s Impressive
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The statistics from Saturday’s game were very much in favour of Graham Potter’s side, who played some lovely attractive passing football once again. The Seagulls had 71 per cent of possession at St James’ Park and completed 718 passes opposed to just 280 for Newcastle.
Albion also averaged a passing accuracy rate of 88.2 per cent compared to 69.6 per cent for the hosts, and fans will hope it is only a matter of time before those numbers translate into goals.
3. Connolly comes so close
The young Irishman nearly saw his name in lights when he latched onto a brilliant pass from Gross and chipped the ball over Martin Dubravka, but was denied a first-ever Premier League goal after Fabian Schar acrobatically cleared his effort off the line.
The 19-year-old put in another tireless display after coming on from the bench for the final 20 minutes, and is rising to the challenge of first-team football.
4. Unbeaten run continues against the Magpies
Saturday’s draw against Newcastle extended Albion’s unbeaten run against the Magpies to five games, now a joint best club record in the Premier League along with games against West Ham United. The result also means that Newcastle have only won one of their previous six games at home.
5. Bissouma returns to the fold
Yves Bissouma made his first appearance of the season after recovering from a shoulder injury, and the midfielder showed some good touches after coming off the bench for the closing stages.
The Malian gave the Newcastle defence cause for concern, and could have capped his return with a goal after forcing Dubravka into a save with a low, driven strike.