City flag of Brighton & Hove with white seagull on blue ground flying at Hove Lawns Seafront, Brighton, East Sussex.
The Seagulls dominated possession from the outset and played some lovely football, completely outclassing their recently promoted opponents.
Despite 21 attempts on goal, and 1.81 xG (expected goals), Albion’s attack failed to break down a disciplined Ipswich defence.
Ipswich’s clean sheet was driven largely by a formidable goalkeeping display by their goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
The Kosovan made six saves in a player-of-the-match performance, giving his side a valuable point in their bid to survive in the Premier League.
Outside of their failure to score, it was another dominant and convincing performance for Fabian Hürzeler‘s unbeaten side.
Though it could be overlooked as a poor performance on paper, this draw was anything but.
VAVEL takes a look at how Brighton’s players performed individually here.
It is always hard to rate goalkeepers in games like this.
Verbruggen had little to do, with Ipswich posing minimal threat until a late Liam Delap effort that struck the post.
His distribution was solid as always, but he was not called upon to make any game-changing saves, so it is hard to give him any higher.
Joël Veltman – 8
Veltman is Mr Reliable.
Always a seven or eight-out-of-ten player, week in, week out, Veltman was very steady at right-back, providing width and supporting attacks.
He managed to keep Wes Burns extremely quiet on the left wing, breaking down and intercepting nearly every attacking opportunity that came his way.
Jan Paul van Hecke – 7
Van Hecke is really turning into a defensive leader at the back this season.
The Dutchman was composed throughout the match and read the game well. He barely lost a challenge, and his distribution from the back helped maintain Albion’s dominance in possess
Dunk was solid defensively.
He looks a bit sluggish this season compared to what fans are used to, but his partnership with van Hecke is becoming extremely solid.
Another clean sheet and his free-kick attempt in a promising position left a lot to be desired, as it went straight into the wall.
He played a significant role in keeping Ipswich quiet, though.
