Pulse Analysis: No standout individual moment but Leon Balogun had a Premier League debut to remember

It wasn’t a vintage individual performance from Balogun but that was a Premier League debut to remember and build on.

It’s usually a nightmare for any defender in a bottom-10 team in the Premier League to make his debut against Manchester United.

Brighton and Hove Vs Manchester United

The Premier League is special,  with more hammers than scalpels, although that is changing gradually with more teams wanting to become more expansive in their style of play.

But there is still a bangarang feel to how the game is played in England and it can jar players new to the scene.

For Leon Balogun, the plan was to ease him in gradually to attune him to the Premier League but an injury to Lewis Dunk in the 20th minute forced Chris Hughton to throw on his free summer signing.

Unexpected debut

So after sitting out Brighton and Hove's 0-2 away loss to Watford on the opening day of the 2018/2019 Premier League season, Balogun was thrown in to make his debut against Manchester United.

He wasn’t called into action for the first 10 minutes while Brighton took a 2-0 lead at the Falmer Stadium.

In the 34th minute, Manchester United got a goal back due to lack of concentration in the Brighton defence.

Balogun played a part in the momentary loss of focus as he failed to stay tight, allowing Romelu Lukaku to get his head on the cross back into the box during a set piece situation.

In the second half, the Nigerian defender and his teammates were more compact in defence, making sure Manchester United forwards did not have any space in the box.

He was alert to head out a cross from Marcus Rashford in the 60th minute but his clearance fell to Paul Pogba’s whose shot was saved by Matthew Ryan.

For Manchester United’s third goal, the 30-year-old was far from the action when Shane Duffy fouled Marouane Fellaini to concede a penalty.

In his 70 minutes of action, Balogun won four tackles, made three interceptions and completed five clearances.

It wasn’t a vintage individual performance from Balogun but that was a Premier League debut to remember and build on.