Manchester United slumped to a 3-1 loss against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon.
Hot off a 3-1 win over Southampton, Man United were back to their usual troubles as their defence fell apart in front of the Old Trafford crowd. Sadly, a humiliating mistake by Andre Onana was ingrained in the minds of United fans following yet another difficult afternoon.
Within two minutes, Brighton was on the attack as Joao Pedro weaved past Leny Yoro, with Harry Maguire tracking back to cover him. Pedro’s through ball hurtled toward Danny Welbeck in the centre, though Andre Onana was able to intercept. Clearly, peak concentration was needed by the United defence in order to keep the visitors’ attackers at bay.
Four minutes in, United were already trailing. Kaoru Mitoma beat the offside trap, making the most of United’s high line. From there, he simply had to slot the ball into the centre to tee up an easy shot for Yankuba Minteh, who opened the scoring. Yet another shocking start for United this season.
United looked to establish dominance on the ball in the minutes that followed as they looked to control the flow of the game. Still, the Brighton defence held steady, refusing to allow the home side to set up any clear goalscoring opportunities.
Amad Diallo was pulled down in a goalmouth scramble in the Brighton box, yet no penalty was given. Barely a minute later, Joshua Zirkzee surged into the box, pouncing on a quick pass from Amad following an interception. Penalty to United as Carlos Noom Quomah Baleba was shown a yellow card for pulling Zirkzee down.
Up stepped Bruno Fernandes to the penalty spot to fire his side back into the game. The United skipper cooly directed his penalty into the bottom left corner, misdirecting the keeper and pulling United level. 1-1 after 23 minutes of play.
In the 32nd minute, United launched a rapid counter, with Fernandes playing a superb cross to Mazraoui across the field. His through ball found Amad, who was dispossessed. A promising sign of attacking potential from United.
Six minutes from the break, it appeared as if Amad beat the offside trap, picking up a surgical long ball from Manuel Ugarte. While he beat the keeper, he was too close to the byline to get a shot on goal, thereby giving the defence the chance to track back. While the offside flag was raised, it was yet another positive counter from United.
Seconds before the 45-minute mark, Amad was held back by Mitoma, earning United a free-kick near the right corner flag. Fernandes whipped in a threatening cross, with Harry Maguire’s header going wide. He was subsequently adjudged to be offside.
As two minutes of stoppage time were almost up, Pedro received the ball on the edge of the United box. Fortunately, the defence was on him, with Matthijs de Ligt, Maguire, and Ugarte sprinting to the rescue. Ugarte performed an excellent tackle to dispossess the striker and ensure that the score remained 1-1 going into the break.
Three minutes after the restart, United were on the attack, with Amad taking a shot from outside the box that was blocked.
51 minutes in, Brighton received a free-kick on the edge of the box due to a careless foul by Kobbie Mainoo. Despite Yasin Ayari slipping as he took the kick, the ball entered the box, causing mass confusion as United and Brighton players wrestled for the ball. After a flurry of pinball motions, the ball fell to Pedro, who swivelled around Zirkzee and put the ball under Onana into the net.
Before the goal could be awarded, VAR was called into play due to a potential foul in the area by Brighton. Upon conducting a pitchside review, the referee concluded that Diogo Dalot had been fouled by Jan Paul van Hecke, who kicked the full-back. 1-1 the score remained.
After having his boot clipped by Quomah Baleba, Fernandes took a threatening free-kick that swept across the face of goal. It was a pity that no United player could get a boot to the ball during what was a dangerous attacking opportunity.
On the hour mark, Mitoma restored Brighton’s lead. Yankuba Minteh played a quick cross to the left-winger, who beat Onana with a shot inches from the goal line. 2-1 to the visitors with little over a half-hour to play. It was a moment to forget for Noussair Mazraoui, who lost his duel to Mitoma before crashing into the post.
Ugarte was given a delayed yellow card after the referee played advantage for his foul leading up to the goal.
Maguire played a soaring long ball to Dalot, who beat the Brighton defence on the left flank. He cut the ball back to Fernandes, whose shot was disappointingly floated wide.
In the 65th minute, Toby Collyer and Alejandro Garnacho came on for Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte. Clearly, Amorim was looking to go more attacking in order to find a way back into the match.
In the 74th minute, Amad played a decent cross to Zirkzee, whose volley was blocked. It was a decent build-up by Amorim’s men.
Barely a minute later, Onana made a horrific mistake that he would surely wish to forget. Ayari played a soft cross into the box that Onana should have easily grabbed hold of. Instead, he parried the ball to substitute Georginho, who scored in the open net to double Brighton’s lead.
In the 82nd minute, Dalot’s cross inside the box was cut out by Mitoma for a corner. It was a decent corner from Amad but the Brighton defence held steady.
Amorim then brought on Rasmus Hojlund and Antony in exchange for Zirkzee and Mazraoui.
Eight minutes of stoppage time were announced, handing United some time to find a way back into the game, although the probability of that was slim given the two-goal deficit.
United attempted a flurry of crosses into the Brighton box, albeit to no effect. The visitors’ defence was simply too rigid to penetrate.
Finally, the full-time whistle blew, bringing an end to a frustrating afternoon for the Old Trafford faithful. For the third consecutive time, United have been defeated at home by Brighton – an embarrassing record that no club of United’s stature should hold.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Maguire, Fernandes, Zirkzee, Yoro, Amad, Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo
Subs: Collyer, Garnacho, Hojlund, Antony
Featured image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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