Manchester United vs Brighton Review
Brighton triumphed over Manchester United with a score of 3-1 at Old Trafford, marking only the third instance in Premier League history where the Red Devils have suffered three straight home losses to the same team. After recently securing a 2-0 win against Ipswich, which ended an eight-match winless streak in the league, Brighton started the match aggressively. Their traveling supporters were quick to celebrate the first goal just five minutes in, thanks to a long pass from Carlos Baleba that set Kaoru Mitoma free. Mitoma then squared the ball to Yankuba Minteh, who finished easily.
Manchester United, familiar with coming from behind after Amad Diallo’s midweek performance, quickly equalized when Bart Verbruggen’s mishandled ball led to Joshua Zirkzee being fouled in the penalty area by Baleba. Although Bruno Fernandes had earlier misfired an attempt on goal, he confidently converted the penalty, leveling the score.
After a couple of offside calls against United, Brighton seemed to regain the lead shortly after the second half began when João Pedro scored from close range following a chaotic sequence in the box. However, their celebrations were cut short by a VAR review, which determined that Jan Paul van Hecke had fouled Diogo Dalot during the buildup. Undeterred, the Seagulls took the lead again in the 60th minute, with Mitoma scoring from Minteh’s cross, making him the highest-scoring Japanese player in Premier League history.
The match was effectively sealed 14 minutes before the end due to a significant mistake by goalkeeper André Onana, who mishandled a cross, allowing Georginio Rutter to easily score. From that point on, Brighton managed to maintain their lead without much trouble. United, having lost six of their last seven league matches against Brighton, sit 13th in the standings. In contrast, back-to-back league victories have propelled Fabian Hürzeler’s team to ninth place, bringing them closer to European competition.