Manchester United capitalised on recent momentum by beating Brighton at Old Trafford as Matheus Cunha scored his first club goal in a frantic and somewhat controversial 4-2 win.
Ruben Amorim’s side seem to be one of contrasting fortunes as a torrid start to this season has made way for a particularly productive recent period, with three wins on the spin propelling them, temporarily at least, into the top four.
Man Utd had lost six of their last seven league games against Brighton and rode their luck at times in the first half, needing some wasteful finishing from Danny Welbeck to pave the way for two goals in 10 minutes, scored by Cunha and Casemiro. The opener was sumptuous, the second via a harsh deflection much more fortunate.
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Matheus Cunha scores his first Man Utd goal after bending the ball into the far post.
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Casemiro’s strike from the edge of the box takes a huge deflection off Yasin Ayari.
Bruno Fernandes should have made it three before Bryan Mbeumo did, driving a devilishly clever strike through Lewis Dunk’s legs, despite an obvious foul by Luke Shaw on Georginio Rutter in the phase before. And that was not the only decision under scrutiny on the night.
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Replays showed a tug on Georginio Rutter’s shirt from Luke Shaw but VAR deems it not enough to overturn Bryan Mbeumo’s goal.
Neither referee Anthony Taylor nor VAR awarded Amad a penalty when he was upended by Maxim De Cuyper in the first half, because the defender supposedly “played the ball”, while Patrick Dorgu only received a yellow for a last-ditch foul on Yankuba Minteh – albeit the forward had probably lost control of possession when the whistle finally went.
The drama did not stop there. Welbeck latterly made his presence felt when guiding a belting free-kick beyond Senne Lammens to rid him of a second consecutive clean sheet, before Charalampos Kostoulas arrived from the bench to force what looked to be a needlessly tense end.
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Bryan Mbeumo makes it 4-2 for Manchester United against Brighton with an emphatic finish to this stoppage time strike.
Mbeumo had other ideas, though, finding the net in the 96th minute with an emphatic finish to round off a frenzied finale, with Gary Neville praising Amorim for his “best and most important week in the job”.
Amorim’s best week in the job
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Gary Neville believes this week has been Ruben Amorim’s best week in the job at Manchester United after being under massive pressure.
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville at Old Trafford:
“The narrative coming into this game was that Manchester United couldn’t take a step back after what happened at Anfield last week and the win today was absolutely crucial.
“I think it has been Ruben Amorim’s best and most important week in the job. It gives him a bit of time.
“I am not saying he’s off the hook but Manchester United are up there towards the top of the league and it certainly takes a lot of pressure off him.”
Mbeumo and Cunha pairing finally pays off
Cunha celebrates scoring his first Man Utd goal
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter at Old Trafford:
Only Manchester United can comprehensively beat a team while simultaneously seeming like they survived a major scare. This was definitely a banana skin moment. United’s recent record against Brighton is woeful and it’s a fixture that always throws up drama. This latest instalment trended similarly.
Just when United draw you in, Old Trafford bouncing with unbridled glee at being 2-0 up, they drop you like a sack of bricks. It was easy to be charmed by the first-half performance but the second proved this fragile side are far from flawless. How can they make things look so easy and so hard all at the same time? It’s an art.
Until Bryan Mbeumo slammed home a fourth in stoppage time there was a sense of foreboding seeping into the terraces. You could tangibly feel the atmosphere shift. Of the four big chances the hosts created, three were missed. And yet they still scored four times.
That’s what Ruben Amorim means when he emphasised in his press conference that this year’s squad contains players who “fit the style”. He’s talking about the quality of Cunha and Mbeumo. A new brand of Manchester United matchwinner.
Without them, this is still an average side very much trying to find its way.
Amorim underlines importance of ‘new confidence’
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Ruben Amorim picked out Bryan Mbeumo’s performance in Manchester United’s 4-2 win over Brighton in the Premier League, claiming he was a
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim:
“The performance was important. We played different games in different moments. It would not be Manchester United without suffering a bit.
“The best game we did [this season] was against Arsenal, but when you have a different spirit, we are a bit more free playing the game. We have a different confidence.
“I never had that feeling of embarrassment of not winning games, I felt [Sir] Jim [Ratcliffe] always believed, but to face the fans was difficult in that moment. It’s so hard in football, everything can change in one minute.
“We are improving in the bad moments, and [learning to] respond in a different way. You can feel it with the team. Let’s enjoy, but that urgency of this can change must be there.
“The team play so much better compared to last season. We have players more suited to this type of style. I like more today than last week [beating Liverpool], it was more complete.”
Hurzeler: Their goals were gifts
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler:
“It’s easy to summarise. Too many easy mistakes. We gave the balls away too easy, like this you can’t win the game. We had control and good actions, always created a danger, but in the end it’s easy mistakes. [The goals are] like four presents.
“United pressed well but we have to do the small margins right. We weren’t on the highest level and then we make mistakes. When we were in a structure we didn’t give away many chances, but it was just the mistakes. We decided the game ended in a negative way. The execution was not good enough.”
Speaking about the difference in threat of Manchester United from last year to now, Hurzeler said: “Much more intense, compact, and defending forward. Even more individual quality – money was well invested.”
Commenting on the officiating performance, he added: “I will never make the referee responsible for our losses. We have to make it better. We can’t lose the ball that easily.”
