Manchester United secured three victories in a row under Ruben Amorim for the first time despite a late fightback from Brighton and Hove Albion. It started out as a fairly even game before United broke the deadlock with Matheus Cunha firing into the bottom corner. They doubled their lead before the break when Casemiro’s strike took a wicked deflection, leaving Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen powerless to stop the ball from trickling over the line.
Bryan Mbeumo fired home a third on the hour mark, squeezing in at the near post, before Danny Welbeck pulled one back for Brighton with a brilliant free-kick. United looked shakier from that point and they were given a real fright when Charalampos Kostoulas headed in from a corner in the 92nd minute. Fortunately for the hosts, Mbeumo popped up with another goal seconds before the final whistle to restore their two-goal advantage.
Express Sport looks at how every United player performed against the Seagulls…
Man Utd player ratings vs Brighton
Senne Lammens – 6
Made some decent saves and brought an air of confidence between the sticks. Couldn’t have done much to stop either of Brighton’s goals.
Leny Yoro – 6
Looked a bit shaky at times and was turned inside out on a couple of occasions, but otherwise did okay.
Matthijs de Ligt – 7
Carried out his defensive duties well enough, getting himself in the right positions to snuff out attacks.
Luke Shaw – 7
Did the basics well and showed great awareness to cover for his team-mates, bailing them out of some tricky situations.
Diogo Dalot – 6
Had a decent game without setting the world alight. Most of United’s attacking play went down the other side of the pitch.
Casemiro – 7
Grabbed the assist for Cunha’s goal with a well-timed pass into space. Got very lucky with a deflection to double United’s lead.
Bruno Fernandes – 8
Dictated the tempo in the engine room and pushed forward to involve himself in attacking moves. A captain’s performance.
Amad – 7
Caused plenty of problems for Brighton down the right flank. Was robbed of winning a penalty when he was fouled inside the box.
Matheus Cunha – 9
Used great technique to curl home the opener and posed a significant threat all game. His finest display in a United shirt.
Bryan Mbeumo – 9
Showed real quality on the ball and was rewarded for his tireless efforts with two crucial goals. The best player on the pitch.
Benjamin Sesko – 7
Impressed with his build-up play, allowing Cunha and Mbeumo to flourish, but was slightly wasteful with his own shooting chances.
Substitutes
Ayden Heaven – 6
Came on for the final 25 minutes and did okay on the left side of United’s back three.
Patrick Dorgu – 4
Was fortunate to avoid being sent off for hauling down Yankuba Minteh and Brighton scored from the resulting free-kick.
Kobbie Mainoo – 5
Didn’t offer a great deal of security in the middle of the park. United looked stronger before he was introduced.
Manuel Ugarte – 6
Came on after Brighton’s goal in an effort to tighten things up. Did okay, but could’ve done better.
Joshua Zirkzee – 5
Got a rare chance to impress up front and looked lively, but lost the run of Kostoulas for Brighton’s second goal.
