Brighton vs Manchester United: Brighton win it late at United to boost their European chances hopes
A last-minute penalty from Alexis Mac Allister gave Brighton & Hove Albion a thrilling victory over Manchester United at the Amex stadium, giving the Seagulls their first-ever league double over the Red Devils. This result gave the Seagulls more impetus in their quest for European qualifying.
The Seagulls were expecting a tough test when Erik ten Hag’s United came to town just 11 days after their FA Cup semifinal match at Wembley. It was the visitors who threatened an early breakthrough when Antony wasted a great opportunity to score but shot wide of the goal. David de Gea stopped shots from Kaoru Mitoma and Adam Webster as Marcus Rashford continued to provide United a threat at the other end.
The crowd was captivated by the end-to-end atmosphere of the game despite the goalless first half hour as both teams searched for an early goal before halftime. Jason Steele remained firm to stop Anthony Martial from scoring, and Facundo Buonanotte curled wide from the edge of the box to ensure that there was no difference between the two teams heading into halftime.
The hosts came out after the break ready to establish their dominance over the game after failing to score just once in the league since October. Even though Brighton had the ball and played effectively but the Seagulls’ lack of finesse in the final third proved to be an issue as Mitoma and Danny Welbeck both missed the target from good positions inside the box. However, Brighton had a fantastic chance to win at the very last second thanks to a handball by Luke Shaw, and the Argentine buried the goal to win it for the home side.
This result moves Brighton up to sixth place in the Premier League standings with 55 points having played two games less than Liverpool who sit in fifth place with 59 points. However, Manchester United maintains fourth place with a four-point lead over Liverpool.
