Brighton player ratings vs AEK Athens: 9s for 'imperious' and 'faultless' duo; 5 and 6s for out of sorts stars

Decimated by injuries and suspensions, Brighton looked ragged in the first-half and were fortunate to be level at half-time.

The hosts were made to pay for missed opportunities, within ten minutes of the game restarting, when Damian Szymanski was adjudged to have fouled Joao Pedro in the box – after a VAR check.

The Brazilian made no mistake from the spot to score his fifth goal of the European campaign, making him the leading scorer in this season’s competition. It was the fourth penalty he has scored in the Europa League – three of them coming against the Greek side.

Life became a tad easier for Albion when Mijat Gacinovic, who was one of the hosts’ better players in the game, was sent off following two yellow cards.

Brighton held on for the remaining half an hour to secure an historic three points, which means they are guaranteed to finish at least second in the group. They can top the group with a win over Marseille in the final group B game next month.

If they do finish second, they will face a knockout round play-off tie against a side who finishes third in their Champions League group.

Here is how Brighton’s players rated against AEK Athens.

Bart Verbruggen – 9: Busier of the two keepers in the first half and made some important stops. Kept alert in the second half. Two clean sheets in two European games – you can’t argue with that! The young keeper was faultless.

Joel Veltman – 7: Solid at the back. Didn’t offer much going forward. Booked in the first-half but did well to stay out of trouble after that. Won the foul which resulted in Athens’ red card.

Lewis Dunk – 9: What else can you say about this man? He was desperately missed in the reverse fixture between the two sides and he showed his quality again tonight. Imperious at the back. Led by example and put his body on the line on multiple occasions. He also made a goal-saving block onto the post when Albion were really struggling.

Igor Julio – 8: The Brazilian’s return from injury was vital for Brighton. Very strong alongside Dunk in defence.

Jack Hinshelwood – 8: Superb performance from the young man. It was his first ever European game but you wouldn’t have known that from his performance. Barely put a foot wrong at full-back. Moved into a midfield role when James Milner came on.

Pascal Groß – 6: A couple of dangerous early set pieces. Didn’t have control of the midfield in the first half as Athens dominated and somehow didn’t take the lead. Recovered well in the second-half.

Billy Gilmour – 6: Like Gross, he lost control of the midfield in the first half. Guilty of too many loose passes. Improved after the break. Went close with a scissor-kick effort at 1-0.

Simon Adingra – 7: Kept quiet in the first half. A few dangerous runs caused some problems. Lively after the break and looked threatening. Should have squared it but opted to shoot when Brighton were leading. Brilliant cross would have given Ferguson a tap-in if it wasn’t cleared by a last-ditch tackle.

Evan Ferguson – 6: Had Brighton’s best chance of the first half but couldn’t take it. Was marked out the game for large parts but put himself about well as Brighton made their extra man count. Should have made it 2-0 late on but missed a one-on-chance.

Kaoru Mitoma – 5: Didn’t look 100 per cent after returning from injury. Didn’t really impact the game as he would have liked. Still great to see him back in action before he was taken off for Mahmoud Dahoud with 20 minutes remaining.

Joao Pedro – 7: Brilliantly taken penalty to take him top of the goal-scoring charts in this season’s Europa League. In truth, he was very poor in the first half, struggling to hold the ball up or make the ball stick. Who cares when you score the winner, though?

Substitutes

Mahmoud Dahoud – 7: Surprising omission from the team, with the midfielder one game into a three-match Premier League ban. Did well when he came on. Nice passing.

James Milner – 7: It was a smart change by De Zerbi to bring on the veteran for Pedro for the final 15 minutes. He used his experience to his advantage. Superb defensive header to clear the danger late on.

Joshua Duffus – 7: Energetic off the bench. Two chances to score but couldn’t make it a dream debut. Still, what a night to play your first senior game in Brighton colours!

Carlos Baleba – N/A: Helped to close out the win.