Brighton’s intention last summer was presumably for Joao Pedro to replace Danny Welbeck over the course of 2024-25.
In the 4-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday, we saw why that hasn’t quite happened. Brighton supporters raged at Fabian Hurzeler for taking off Welbeck after he had scored. Pedro was sent off for lashing out at Nathan Collins and will miss three of the five remaining league games.
It has been a weird season for the Brazilian, who has definitely influenced the team in a positive way but also only has five non-penalty goals in an attacking team. There are entire periods of matches when you can’t work out how he will ever score again – including snatched finishing. Just as you think that you have him worked out, he will do something that makes him impossible to defend against.
The disciplinary stuff is a slight concern, particularly as the body language sometimes looks off. Pedro was very fortunate not to be sent off in the reverse fixture against Brentford and this time got what he deserved. There is a suspicion that you can wind him up and that frustration leads to him becoming distracted from what makes him very good.
He also turns 24 later this year, so the excuses for the gap between Pedro’s best and worst become harder to stomach. Football managers love control. Brighton have a striker who seems very difficult to predict from one minute to the next, let alone rely upon to lead a line all season.
This is an extract of The Score. Sign-up up here to receive the newsletter every Monday morning with The i Paper’s verdict on all 20 Premier League clubsThis is an extract of The Score. Sign-up up here to receive the newsletter every Monday morning with The i Paper’s verdict on all 20 Premier League clubs
Be the first to comment