Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
United conceded an early goal after Kaoru Mitoma shook off Noussair Mazraoui and broke into the box before squaring the ball into Yankuba Minteh, who was all too happy to tap it in.
However, United fought back and restored parity in the 23rd minute courtesy of a Bruno Fernandes penalty kick. Joshua Zirkzee won the spot-kick after he was brought down by Carlos Baleba.
The visitors returned from the break firing on all cylinders and restored their lead 15 minutes after the restart through Mitoma. The Japanese winger got the beating of Mazraoui once again to force the ball past the reach of Andre Onana.
Brighton’s goal was almost gifted to them on a platter by Onana, who came out of his goal to collect a cross but spilled it into the path of Georginio Rutter. The substitute made no mistake as he guided it into the back of an empty net.
Several United players simply didn’t turn up but Amad was not one of them.
Amad was his side’s hero last time out, registering a late hat-trick that spared United’s blushes against bottom-of-the-league Southampton.
He was brilliant yet again vs. Brighton, even though he didn’t get on the score sheet. Amad’s most notable contribution was his high press which led to Zirkzee winning the penalty.
During the time he was on the pitch, Amad touched the ball 52 times and found his teammates with 20 of the 26 passes e attempted, managing an individual pass accuracy of 77%.
Four of his passes were key passes.
Amad tried to deliver one cross and successfully connected. He was brilliant defensively, winning seven of the 11 ground duels he delved into. He also comes out on top in the one aerial challenge get contested.
The 22-year-old made one clearance and as many interceptions. He contributed an additional three tackles.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
No player on the pitch created more chances (4), won more tackles (3) or won more fouls (3) than Amad.
No player on the pitch created more chances (4), won more tackles (3) or won more fouls (3) than Amad today.
United’s most important player. 🔑 pic.twitter.com/qKG9Fzb89A
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 19, 2025
He certainly didn’t deserve to be on the losing side today.
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
