Brighton player ratings vs Roma: Three 8s but one 5 as Albion's historic European journey comes to an end with pride

A screamer from Danny Welbeck – after Sadar Azmoun harshly had a goal for the visitors ruled out – gave Albion hope of a miraculous comeback but they couldn’t add to their lead on the night.

Simon Adingra and Jan Paul van Hecke both missed good headed chances as Albion piled on the pressure with 17 shots and 65 per cent of the ball.

The game wasn’t without its heated moments – notably after Welbeck’s goal – as Roma appeared to be using time-wasting tactics. The game saw nine yellow cards – including both managers, Roberto De Zerbi and Daniele De Rossi.

The game, if looked at in separation, was a dominant 1-0 victory over a European heavy weight and a much-needed morale booster at the end of a memorable Europa League campaign – which saw wins over Ajax, Marseille, AEK Athens and, finally, Roma.

Here’s how we rated the players:

Bart Verbruggen – 7: Very little to do in the game. Beaten by brilliant bicycle kick by Azmoun but saved by a dubious high boot decision. Comfortable second-half.

Tariq Lamptey – 6: Tried to make a nuisance of himself going forward. Harshly booked. Replaced after an hour.

Jan Paul van Hecke – 8: Went down holding his head after Sardar Azmoun’s goal and was fortunate to get support from the officials. Good defensive positioning to cut out the danger. Really assured performance. So close with two headers in a couple of minutes. Second one came after he put in a superb tackle high up the field.

Lewis Dunk – 8: Great header across goal from a corner. Fans enjoyed his sliding challenge to win the ball back. Another important tackle high up the pitch. Solid as a rock, as he put his mistake from last week behind him.

Pervis Estupinan – 7: Important intervention. Booked. Simple assist for Welbeck. Dangerous cross palmed away after Welbeck failed to get a connection. Replaced by Igor Julio after an hour.

Billy Gilmour – 7: Clean connection on a volley but over the bar it went. Linked up play well all night. Easily won the midfield battle as Brighton dominated.

Pascal Groß – 7: So close to scoring after a silky turn. Beautifully weighted cross for Adingra, who should have scored. Didn’t put a foot wrong in the game. Powerful shot blocked.

Simon Adingra – 5: Energetic but wasteful on the night. A sloppy pass nearly cost Brighton a goal at 0-0. Rushed forward pass in promising position. Two headed chances to make it 2-0 – he had to be scoring the second one. Slipped when he picked the ball up after Igor’s shot was saved. Brighton needed his form from the first leg. There were glimpses of that performance when he moved over to the left and set up Fati with a nice chip before having a shot saved moments later.

Adam Lallana – 6: Finding gaps to exploit. Involved in some heated moments and got the opposition players riled up. Just lacked that final ball.

Julio Enciso – 6: Fired up the home crowd early on. Weaving run forced a foul from Mancini, earning the Roma defender a yellow card. Nice turn but shot was not powerful enough to test the keeper. Substituted in the second-half as he works his way back to full fitness.

Danny Welbeck – 8: Early header off target. One pass too many as he looked destined to pull the trigger. The Brighton man with the most European experience scored an absolute screamer to give the hosts hope. Big chance to make it 2-0 from Estupinan cross. Was a constant threat and held the ball up well.

Substitutes:

Ansu Fati – 7: Did well to keep ball alive after slipping at byline – nearly led to a goal. Nice pass infield. Struck a volley wide from decent position. Excellent long-range strike forced Svilar into a great save over the bar.

Igor Julio – 7: Low driven shot forced a save from Svilar. Defended well when called upon.

Evan Ferguson – 6: Nice hold up play led to a goalscoring chance but limited impact.

Facundo Buonanotte – 6: Superb run but couldn’t find the final ball – summed up Brighton’s night