Bernd Leno: The German goalkeeper made crucial saves throughout. A swift double save prevented Brighton from taking an early lead as he beat away a fierce drive from Carlos Baleta before booting the ball away as Adingra looked destined to score at the back post. He had little chance with Evan Ferguson’s opener but gathered when the Irishman was given a sight of goal before half-time by a poor piece of defending from Antonee Robinson. A late save from substitute Ansu Fati helped the Whites earn what feels like an important point. 7

Timothy Castagne: Another serviceable display from the Belgian full back as he deputised for Kenny Tete. Not the easiest of afternoons in challenging conditions against a side that sought to exploit spaces out wide, but Castagne stuck to his task well and shackled plenty of Albion attacks. We didn’t see too much of him going forward but his resolution, especially when Roberto de Zerbi’s side came alive in the closing stages was commendable. 6

Antonee Robinson: The American’s showing divided opinion amongst the people sitting near me. He badly miscued an optimistic effort as Brighton half cleared a corner and then had a sloppy five minutes before allowing Ferguson to get the wrong side of him far too easily for the goal. Completely missed a back header before half time and had to be rescued by Leno, but redeemed himself with an excellent clearance off the line when Andy Webster’s header looked like dropping in the top corner late on. 6

Tim Ream: An assured display from the veteran at the heart of the Fulham defence. Read the danger well, especially when Marco Silva’s side came under increasing pressure late in the contest. Put his body on the line to bravely a goalbound effort from Joao Pedro after clearing countless crosses throughout the afternoon. Used the ball intelligently, too, and remains a key figure in this Fulham side. 7

Calvin Bassey: There was good and bad from Bassey in the space of five first-half minutes. The Nigerian international nipped in ahead of Ferguson to start a promising counter than took him all the way into the Brighton box but was then far too deep playing the Irish international onside, allowing him the time to pick his spot in the bottom corner. Recovered well to defend diligently in the second half. 6

Joao Palhinha: We’ll have to start with the obvious caveat that the Portuguese midfielder could have seen red for leading with his elbow in a challenge with Gross, but this game encapsulated why the Lisbon lion is so pivotal to Fulham’s fortunes. He won ten tackles – the highest in the division in a match all season – and spotted danger early before doing what he has the happy knack of doing for a defensive midfielder: coming up with a world class finish. The technique to locate the top corner on the turn on sodden turf was breathtaking, but Palhinha made it look deceptively easy. 9

Harrison Reed: I was disappointed with Reed yesterday. His performance lacked the bite necessary against a side who can look like they have all the time in the world on the ball and the cause definitely didn’t need a pass that asked an awful lot of an out-of-form Raul Jimenez. You can’t fault Harrison’s effort, but his distribution made look more like Mark Cooper than the Ginger Iniesta during this outing. 6

Bobby De Cordova-Reid: Like his almost name-sake, the Jamaican international was an eager running and willing to do the hard yards but wasted a wonderful chance to equalise before half-time when he lashed over from a brilliant Willian ball. De Cordova-Reid’s defensive discipline offered valuable cover to Castagne at right back, but it felt like the visitors perked up in the final third when Harry Wilson replaced him. 6

Willian: The Brazilian is still a sublime footballer and is capable of stupendous bits of skill. How he created the afore-mentioned chance for De Cordova-Reid still eludes him: the deftest of dinks over Lewis Dunk suddenly prised open a stubborn defence. This wasn’t really the afternoon for Samba-style football, but Willian grafted hard, like all of his team-mates. 7

Alex Iwobi: Playing the ex-Everton man in the number ten role proved an inspired decision from Silva. Iwobi was Fulham’s shining light in a first half where they failed to register a shot on target before conjuring up the equaliser by seizing upon a slack pass from Gross, twisting and turning outrageously away from the blue and white shirts and slipping a slide-rule ball into Wilson’s path after which Palhinha took over. He could very quickly become a cult hero. 8

Raul Jimenez: I felt for Jimenez as it was a thankless task leading the line when so isolated against three Albion centre halves. He showed for the ball and made a number of intelligent runs but found support hard to come by – but there’s no getting away from the fact that Fulham looked far more potent without him on the pitch. Perhaps that Mexican journalist’s suggestion of their national hero slipping into an attacking midfield role isn’t as crazy as I first thought. 6

Substitutes:

Harry Wilson: The Welshman was electric when he arrived as part of a triple Silva substitution that changed the course of the contest. Wilson’s smart first time pass to Palhinha might be overlooked as all the focus on the sensational strike, but it shouldn’t be. He added an energy and drive down the right that has been missing during some of his early season displays – this was the winger from Corwyn who shone for his country earlier this month. 8

Andreas Pereira: An encouraging cameo from the Brazilian, who definitely responded to being dropped after the Spurs debacle. Could easily have put Fulham in front when he had two late bites of the cherry from a Wilson cross – although that probably would have been our second robbery at the AMEX in seven months. 7

Rodrigo Muniz: Probably the most pleasing aspect of Fulham’s second half fightback was the contribution made by Muniz, who has found first-team opportunities hard to come by over the past year. He nearly scored with an impudent backheel at the near post, showing the eye for a clever finish that made Silva so keen to sign him from Flamengo in 2021, and looked very lively. 7

Tom Cairney: A classy cameo from the captain off the bench again – helping to keep the ball and calm things down as Brighton came on strong towards the end of this game. 6

Sasa Lukic: The Serbian was sent on in stoppage time to solidify the midfield, which he did effectively. 6