Nick Szczepanik's press verdict: Burnley

Any Albion fan who paid to watch the goalless draw at home to Burnley on Pay-Per-View could have guessed what was coming in the reports of the match in Saturday’s papers - praise for the team’s football but eyes raised to Heaven at the failure to put the ball in the net.

Even before the early editions dropped, the BBC website had delivered its verdict. Written by Emlyn Begley, it was complimentary at times.

“This was always going to be a game of contrasting approaches - Graham Potter's ball-playing Brighton against Sean Dyche's pragmatic Burnley, and so it proved.

“You always know what you will get with Brighton - they passed 100 Premier League shots for the season in this game. Only Liverpool have had more. They rank sixth in the league for possession too.

“But they nearly always fail to take their chances.

“Tariq Lamptey had an opportunity to put them ahead after 60 seconds but fired over from Danny Welbeck's lay-off.

“Welbeck was sent into the box by Neal Maupay - back after being left out last weekend for disciplinary reasons - but his shot was saved by Nick Pope.

“They ended with 19 shots, but nine of them were blocked. It felt as if both teams could be there all day and not score.”

The Sun pointed out that Albion had missed a chance to move above Manchester United in the table, but Jordan Davies found good things to say in his report. “A [Burnley] team that was once feared by many as the Prem’s lovable bruisers are currently struggling to get off the canvas in their worst-ever start.

“On this occasion, they came up against a Brighton side who may have found their very own fab front three in Danny Welbeck, Adam Lallana and the returning bad-boy Neal Maupay.

“And when they find their shooting boots, it could be the defining factor in turning around results for the one-win south coast side.

“After Graham Potter dropped Maupay against Tottenham following a behind-closed-doors incident, the Frenchman looked to be back to his best, while Welbeck’s first start for the club showed he has a lot to give in a Seagulls shirt.”

One of this column’s favourite writers, former Sunday Times man John Aizlewood, is usually good for several witticisms but this game seemed to defy even him. In the Daily Telegraph he wrote:

“Brighton had most of the territory, most of the possession, almost all the attacking intent and in former Chelsea trainee Tariq Lamptey, the evening’s sole swashbuckler. He ran himself ragged, running hither and thither where the mood took him, although nominally a full back. His team-mates were unwilling or unable to tune themselves in to his wavelength.

“The inchoate Welbeck-Maupay partnership sometimes looked like a potential meeting of maverick minds. Yves Bissouma is finally maturing into the midfield anchor Chris Hughton thought he’d acquired in 2018 while the non-stop Lamptey was, in the best sense of the term, all over the place.

“Half-time came and went with Brighton on top in everything but the scoreline. The longer Brighton failed to make the breakthrough – Adam Webster headed just over, Maupay shot tamely at Pope - the more they ran out of new ways to unpick Burnley’s locks and the more the visitors sensed the opportunity of more than a first away point. In quick succession, flying blocks from James Tarkowski and Charlie Taylor prevented Maupay and Lamptey from breaking what had become the deadest of deadlocks.”

Ed Elliott of the Press Association wrote that “in a game of relatively limited chances, Brighton offered the greater attacking threat all evening.

“Welbeck, signed as a free agent last month following his departure from relegated Watford, had two fine opportunities to make an instant impact before the break.

“The former England international looked certain to score in the 34th minute but, having been slipped in by Adam Lallana, his low strike was repelled by the legs of Nick Pope, before the Clarets keeper later raced off his line to smother the ball at his feet.

“Albion continued to have the better of the play in the second period. Adam Webster looped a header onto the roof of Burnley’s goal, while Frenchman Maupay fired straight at Pope from the edge of the box when he could have played in Welbeck.

“Burnley, who failed to muster an attempt on target in the second half, have never lost a Premier League game at the Amex Stadium and resolutely dug in to extend that record.

“The Clarets’ backline produced a series of crucial blocks as the half wore on, including full-back Charlie Taylor superbly denying Lamptey’s close-range effort.”

In The Guardian, Tumaini Carayol suggested that the game had been played between outliers in this season’s goal-crazy Premier League. “Although so much of the talk earlier this season centred around the overwhelming number of goals sprinkled across the opening weeks of competition, neither team can relate. Brighton returned home having produced ample promising performances while failing to record a league win since the opening game of the season [sic], their pleasing fluidity in midfield so often crumbling upon sight of goal.

“This was an enormous opportunity for both teams, which they demonstrated from the beginning by starting with a shared frantic, nervous intensity. Graham Potter finally offered a first start at Brighton for new signing Danny Welbeck, a fallen star who is desperate to put his career back on track after two painful years since breaking his ankle at Arsenal, a time when he was still part of the England squad.

“The decision almost immediately paid off. Within seconds of kick-off, Welbeck was flitting up the right flank without a care in the world, leaving Ben Mee for dead. He provided Tariq Lamptey with a perfect cut-back inside the box. From close range, Lamptey lost his composure and belted his strike well over the bar.

“Brighton took control and ended the opening half suffocating Burnley with their quick combinations. Welbeck was sensational for much of his debut, a nightmare for the Burnley defence as he relentlessly stretched them with his smart runs. The 20-year-old Lamptey continued his blazing start to regular Premier League football, tearing up the right side with his intelligence and speed. All the while, Adam Lallana and Pascal Pascal Gross joyfully traded Cruyff turns and controlled so much of the final third, linking the forward players with their slick passing.

“And yet, they ended the first half without a goal to reflect their efforts. They provided a glimpse of the fun they may soon have once their new attacking players fully gel, but it was a reminder of the wastefulness that has defined their season so far.

“It continued for much of the second half as Brighton camped out within Burnley’s half, generating waves of attacks but failing to penetrate an increasingly resolute Burnley team.”

Daniel Matthews of the Daily Mail wrote that “this draw means [Brighton’s] winless streak on home soil stretches to eight games. They haven't taken three points here since June, when Maupay scored a late winner against Arsenal and had handbags with Matteo Guendouzi. Perhaps they could do with that nasty streak, after all.

“Certainly those foolhardy enough to pay £14.95 for this would have appreciated the added spice. If this kicks off pay-per-view's final bow, it felt fitting.

“Not that Sean Dyche will care too much. Not after his side picked up only their second point of the season. He will be pleased at how their dogged defending repelled Maupay and strike partner Danny Welbeck, who made his first Brighton start and so nearly enjoyed the perfect housewarming.

“It seemed Brighton were turning the screw. In the end, though, it wasn't their night."