Brighton 0-0 Norwich: Player ratings as Maupay misses penalty in goalless draw

From the AMEX - Brighton halted their losing streak but were made to rue Neal Maupay's penalty miss as they were held to a goalless draw by relegation favourites Norwich.

A sleepy opening 20 minutes kicked the game off before the first real action of note, with Neal Maupay fluffing his lines from the middle of the box after nice play with Leandro Trossard and Solly March. Moments later, Alexis Mac Allister whipped a shot just wide.

The hosts were gifted a chance for the opener in hilarious fashion as Sam Byram raised his hands frantically in the box to gift a needless penalty. Maupay was feeling in a similarly generous mood, however, and lifted his effort horribly over the bar.

The Canaries could offer very little in response despite staying level, mustering just one shot to Brighton's 14 in the first half.

Brighton went close again in the second half through three successive corners, when Joel Veltman brought a good save from Krul before Maupay curled wide from a similar position.

Norwich started to show their teeth a little more as the game wore on, with substitute Jonathan Rowe twisting in the area before his cross fell for Billy Gilmour, who saw his shot blocked.

Their best opportunity of the match came in the 79th minute. Teemu Pukki broke free down the right and clipped the ball in for Milot Rashica, but the forward could only volley well over from a promising position.

The draw does little to change the Premier League standings for either side. Brighton remain 13th, though with that dreadful six-game losing streak finally snapped, while Norwich are 20th, seven points off 17th Everton.

Brighton player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Robert Sanchez (GK) - 6/10 - Very little to do aside from claim the odd cross here and there.

Joel Veltman (CB) - 7/10 - Good sliding challenge at the start of the second half to deny Rashica. Denied at point-blank range by Krul with a header.

Lewis Dunk (CB) - 6/10 - Largely untroubled by Norwich's attackers as Brighton dictated possession. Needed on one occasion to block a threatening cross.

Marc Cucurella (CB) - 6/10 - A busy presence, seeing a lot of the ball on Brighton's left.

2. Midfielders

Tariq Lamptey (RWB) - 6/10 - Buzz of expectance whenever he got free on the right. Booked for a clattering challenge.

Leandro Trossard (CM) - 6/10 - Quick and enjoyable feet from the Belgian. Just needed more end product - which can be said about Brighton an awful lot.

Pascal Gross (CM) - 6/10 - Often the spare player when Brighton worked the ball wide, but his crosses were a little disappointing.

Alexis Mac Allister (CM) - 7/10 - Sent a few shots from distance just wide of the goal. Brought a good save from Krul from distance. Probably the Seagulls' biggest threat.

Solly March (LWB) - 5/10 - Industrious as ever on the left, though often lacked the bit of guile to get past Byram.

3. Forwards

Neal Maupay (ST) - 5/10 - Looked keen early on, picking up the ball and driving well before indecision sometimes struck. Unforgivably struck the penalty over. Had Brighton's biggest chances but just kept fluffing his lines.

Danny Welbeck (ST) - 6/10 - Looked to run in behind and his work ethic saw him regain possession on a number of occasions.

4. Substitutes

Enock Mwepu (ST) - 5/10

Jakub Moder (CM) - N/A - Injured shortly after coming on.

Jeremy Sarmiento (LWB) - N/A

Norwich player ratings

5. Goalkeeper & defenders

Tim Krul (GK) - 6/10 - Seemed to engage in some mind games before Maupay had a mare from the penalty spot. Good instinctive save from Veltman's header.

Sam Byram (RB) - 5/10 - Arms were all over the place when he conceded the penalty. Brainless stuff and lucky not to be punished. Pretty solid for the rest of the game.

Ben Gibson (CB) - 6/10 - Not as composed as his centre-back partner but still helped his side to a clean sheet.

Grant Hanley (CB) - 7/10 - Won a good number of defensive duels in the air. Led by example as Brighton huffed and puffed in front of goal.

Dimitrios Giannoulis (LB) - 6/10 - Saw a reasonable amount of the ball but wasn't overly threatening in attack. Did his job at the back.

6. Midfielders

Pierre Lees-Melou (CM) - 5/10 - Had 26 touches in his hour of football, completing 81% of his passes. Meh.

Billy Gilmour (CM) - 6/10 - A little wasteful with his passing, with Brighton pressing Norwich's midfielders well. Some nice twists and turns.

Mathias Normann (CM) - 7/10 - Combative and Norwich's biggest defensive presence in midfield, making three tackles.

Kenny McLean (AM) - 5/10 - Sent a deflected effort whizzing into the side-netting. Rarely given a good platform.

7. Forwards

Milot Rashica (ST) - 5/10 - Spurned Norwich's biggest chance, volleying over when well placed. Little impact otherwise.

Teemu Pukki (ST) - 6/10 - Saw some possession in the first half, with Norwich clearly looking to their star striker to produce something with the precious little they had with the ball. Good cross for Rashica who should have done better.

8. Substitutes

Jonathan Rowe (RW) - 6/10 - Good energy from the bench but didn't see enough of the ball.

Christos Tzolis (LW) - 5/10

Kieran Dowell (AM) - N/A

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