Manchester United vs Brighton Review
Manchester United have secured three consecutive Premier League victories after defeating Brighton 4-2, marking their fourth straight home league win. Early on, Danny Welbeck was given too much space in the box but only managed to shoot directly at Senne Lammens. United felt a strong sense of unfairness shortly after when Amad Diallo was brought down by De Cuyper inside the penalty area, yet both referee Anthony Taylor and VAR decided against awarding a penalty. The home team turned that frustration into motivation, scoring the opening goal midway through the first half as Matheus Cunha advanced from the edge of the box to net his first goal for United.
United’s first goal had a certain elegance to it, while their second helped calm the nerves at Old Trafford. Jan Paul van Hecke made a careless pass in his own half, which Luke Shaw quickly seized. Shaw’s forceful challenge led to Casemiro, who fired a 25-yard shot that deflected off Yasin Ayari and slipped past the stranded goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Just five minutes into the second half, Verbruggen kept Brighton in the game by reacting swiftly to block a close-range shot from Bruno Fernandes.
However, this was only a brief respite for the Seagulls, as United soon put the match out of reach. United played smoothly at times during the second half, and although there was some controversy surrounding their third goal, Brighton believed there was a foul in the buildup, Bryan Mbeumo didn’t mind as he turned in United’s third goal from the edge of the box. Patrick Dorgu fouled Yankuba Minteh, but referee Anthony Taylor only issued a yellow card. Still, justice seemed served when Danny Welbeck stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and curled the ball into the top corner.
Brighton played their best football towards the end of the match, but it seemed they had left themselves too much to do to extend their unbeaten league streak at Old Trafford to four games. Charalampos Kostoulas scored with a header from James Milner’s corner during stoppage time, setting up an exciting finish. United secured their third consecutive league win under Amorim in impressive fashion when Mbeumo scored a fourth goal in the final moments, earning three points that, at least for now, moved them into the top four.
