Manchester United 1-3 Brighton: 5 Talking Points as Erik ten Hag loses third-straight league game against the Seagulls | Premier League 2023-24
Manchester United fell to a 3-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday, September 16.
The Red Devils entered this contest on the back of two wins and two defeats from their first four games. Their last outing was a 3-1 defeat against Arsenal away from home in a tight contest. Manager Erik ten Hag was faced with issues both on and off the pitch as he fielded a new-look lineup.
The Seagulls, on the other hand, have made an electric start to the campaign, scoring 12 goals in their opening four games. With three wins and a defeat, Roberto De Zerbi's men entered this contest with confidence as they looked to win. The manager fielded a strong lineup.
Both Brighton and Manchester United made decent starts to the game as the visitors marginally edged the possession stats in the first period.
Former Red Devil Danny Welbeck gave the Seagulls the lead after 20 minutes following some silky footwork by Adam Lallana to leave the ball. Welbeck was involved from the start, playing one-twos from the halfway line before arriving in the box to finish the move.
Rasmus Hojlund appeared to have leveled the game following brilliant work by Marcus Rashford. However, VAR intervened and ruled the goal out as the ball had gone out on the byline.
Brighton led 1-0 at the break.
Midfielder Pascal Gross produced a moment of sheer quality shortly after the break, faking a shot to sit a defender down before calmly slotting it into the net to make it 2-0.
Two substitutes then took center stage as Brighton's Joao Pedro and Manchester United's Hannibal Mejbri scored stunners within two minutes of each other.
Manchester United tried their best to fight back but were ineffective as the game ended in a 3-1 win for the visitors. On that note, here are the five talking points.
#5. Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for Brighton after a smooth move
Former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck put Brighton 1-0 up midway through the first period following a well-executed move by the Seagulls. Adam Lallana showed brilliant presence of mind in the build-up as his dummy inside the box allowed Welbeck a free shot at goal.
The play developed through the middle before the ball was switched out to the right side. Simon Adingra did well as he drove forward with the ball before squaring it into the box. Lallana's move allowed Welbeck to get in a good position right behind him as he slotted the ball past Andre Onana in the 20th minute.
#4. Rashford created Rasmus Hojlund's goal but it was ruled out
Marcus Rashford was electric on Manchester United's left wing and dominated the first half. He caused Jan Paul van Hecke and Joel Veltman considerable problems with his direct running and body feints. His deflected shot even hit the post before he created a lovely chance for his teammate Hojlund.
Rashford drove towards the box and created space for himself with a couple of stepovers, before laying the ball off to Rasmus Hojlund. The striker sorted his feet out and tucked the ball into the net. However, the goal was ruled out because the ball had run out of play on the byline before Rashford could make his pass.
It was a good spot by the officials and the right call was made.
#3. Pascal Gross scored a wonderful goal to double Brighton's lead
Brighton made a sharp start to the second half and looked to find spaces between Manchester United's defensive lines. Their fullbacks took up advanced positions as they looked to pin the hosts in their own 18-yard box with their movement. This worked wonders as Tariq Lamptey's advanced run helped the Seagulls create a goalscoring chance.
The fullback played a quick one-two with Kaoru Mitoma before squaring the ball towards a dangerous area. Pascal Gross drifted into the box and did a lovely dummy to take the defender out of the equation, before slotting home to make it 2-0.
#2. Joao Pedro and Hannibal scored stunners within minutes of each other
With the game coming to a simmer, both managers made changes midway through the second half as they looked to take control of the game.
Lamptey was in the thick of things once again for Brighton as he played a lovely pass infield towards substitute Joao Pedro. The Brazilian took one look at goal and fired a first-time effort into the far corner past Onana's outstretched arms.
Manchester United came up with a rather quick response, with substitute Hannibal Mejbri taking things into his own hands. After receiving the ball about 25 yards from goal, he composed himself before firing a shot into the right side of the goal, beating goalkeeper Jason Steele all ends up.
It was Hannibal's first ever goal for the Red Devils.
#1. Brighton ended Manchester United's 20-game unbeaten home run
Erik ten Hag's men have performed very well at home over the last year or so, maintaining a 20-game unbeaten run at Old Trafford prior to this game. However, Brighton were the last team to defeat them on their own patch and repeated the trick with a comfortable 3-1 win.
This result puts significant pressure on the manager and the players after a couple of weeks with unsettling events happening on and off the pitch.