BRIGHTON (4-4-1-1):
Ryan 7; Bruno 6, Duffy 7, Dunk 7, Suttner 6; Knockaert 7 (Murphy 80), Propper 6, Stephens 7, March 7; GROSS 8; Hemed 7.
Subs (not used): Krul (gk), Huenemeier, Rosenior, Izquierdo, Schelotto, Brown.
NEWCASTLE (4-2-3-1):
8 ELLIOT: Made three excellent saves, the best of which saw him keep out March’s low second-half strike
7 Yedlin: Poured forward whenever possible, and defended reasonably well against the dangerous March
7 Lascelles: Another strong showing from the skipper, who won a series of important headers, especially in the first half
6 Clark: Battled away gamely against Hemed and competed effectively as Brighton threw a lot of balls into the box
6 Mbemba: Continues to look effective at left-back, and almost set up Perez with a mazy first-half run into the area
5 Hayden: Couldn’t really get into things as Brighton attacked with pace and movement – his place could be at risk for the Liverpool game
8 Merino: Newcastle’s best outfield player once again as he passed the ball astutely and constantly looked to claim possession
6 Ritchie: Delivered some dangerous crosses into the area, but didn’t see as much of the ball as he would have wanted
4 Perez: His effort couldn’t be faulted, but he wasted a good first-half opportunity and has to improve his finishing
6 Atsu: Made some dangerous first-half breaks, but was less effective in the second half as Brighton’s defenders got tighter to him
4 Joselu: His all-round play is valuable, but he is paid to put the ball in the net and for the second week in succession, he was found wanting
Subs:
Shelvey (for Hayden, 68): Tried to make a difference with some long-range passes, and almost scored direct from a corner 6
Gayle (for Joselu, 71)
Gamez (for Mbemba, 83)
(not used): Darlow (gk), Manquillo, Diame, Murphy.
Man Of The Match: PASCAL GROSS – The midfielder was involved in most of Brighton’s best moves, with his probing passes asking questions of the Newcastle defence.
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