Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

Manchester United suffered a shock defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion as Chris Hughton's side scored three goals in the first half to put United in a concerning spot. However, Jose Mourinho's players were unable to script a comeback, and their performance in the second half was extremely uninspiring as such. Here, we discuss the five talking points from United's defeat at the Amex Stadium.

#5 Brighton put pressure and capitalize on it:

Brighton displayed incessant energy from the initial stages to put United’s midfielders into pressure. Despite budging the early bouts of zest from the Seagulls, United’s midfielders failed to stamp their authority in the first half.

The Seagulls took control of the game through the centre, as they recovered the possession and worked the ball swifter and quicker than usual. They were more industrious, often breaching the midfield lines or distributing the ball to wings.

Their right winger, Anthony Knockaert brought a sense of unpredictability as he kept changing his style of play, often drifting out wide to send crosses or cutting in from the wings in order to exchange quick passes and burst into the penalty box.

Eventually, Brighton notched two early goals, including a sumptuous finish where he chipped the ball over David de Gea. Two minutes later, Shane Duffy scored a goal from a scrappy corner, but it was a valuable one nonetheless.

Brighton’s early dominance materialized into something productive in terms of goals, and hence Brighton set the correct tone for the match.