Manchester United 2-1 Brighton: 5 Talking Points
Manchester United made it seven successive wins under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after a 2-1 home win against a defiant Brighton side - who conceded early but refused to roll over at Old Trafford.
Paul Pogba broke the deadlock from the penalty spot before the half-hour mark, having been hauled to the ground by fullback Gaetan Bong. He made no mistake, slotting beyond David Button to score his fifth goal in his last five league appearances after 27 minutes.
Marcus Rashford had a handful of chances before doubling the lead on the stroke of half-time with a fantastic curling finish, after being teed up by Diogo Dalot down the left-hand side.
Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard both squandered opportunities to put the game beyond any doubt in the second half before Pascal Gross made the hosts pay after unleashing a well-taken finish which cannoned in off the crossbar.
Davy Propper's precise through ball was gladly collected by the German, who evaded Phil Jones' attention and slammed home with aplomb - providing the visitors a lifeline in the final 20 minutes. Shane Duffy came close, David de Gea had a few nervy moments as Brighton pushed for a late equalizer, though United held firm to secure another important victory. With all of that in mind, here's a look at five talking points from Old Trafford:
#5 Brighton's defensive strategy has its flaws
Adopting such a defensive approach, it's interesting to see just how Brighton go about trying to frustrate the bigger clubs - especially away from home. When they concede early on, as they did on this occasion, there's no real sense of urgency as usual teams of their ability struggle to restore parity unless their opponents gift them a goal and consequent way back into the match.
They defended well here but needed to, as United were attacking from various positions and looked to stretch their visitors left, right and center. Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy's center-back partnership in the top-flight has been identified as one of Brighton's main strengths, so naturally United were eager not to play to their strengths - aerial duels and interceptions galore.
Both were forced into making important defensive interventions to keep United's three-pronged attack at bay, but Dunk in particular performed very well. Four tackles, two interceptions, five clearances (joint game-high alongside Victor Lindelof), no fouls committed and would've embraced that, playing against a United side full of confidence.
With that in mind, their defensive strategy is somewhat flawed. Given the league's unpredictability, as well as their current points total, you'd be forgiven for thinking they are safer than their play suggests.
This latest result means Chris Hughton's side have now only won one of their last eight league games and remain in 13th, failing to make up ground on both West Ham (10th) and Everton (11th) - both of whom lost elsewhere in the day's other fixtures.
Newly-promoted Cardiff, who sit 18th, are just seven points behind the Seagulls. They can easily be dragged into a relegation battle if they're not careful with this overly-defensive approach in games.