Manchester United were left feeling hard done by after Danny Welbeck’s free-kick, which led to Brighton’s first goal, was taken at least five yards ahead of where the foul occurred. Ruben Amorim’s side were leading 3-0 when Brighton were given an opportunity to claw one back. In the 72nd minute, Patrick Dorgu was penalised for a tussle with Yankuba Minteh, who was making a run towards the goal.
Referee Anthony Taylor showed Dorgu a yellow card, and upon VAR review, it was decided that the booking didn’t warrant an upgrade. While United supporters breathed a sigh of relief that the former Lecce player wasn’t sent off, they were incensed that the free-kick was taken well beyond the spot where the foul took place.
Video and photographic evidence clearly show that Dorgu fouled Minteh approximately 28 yards from the goal. However, Welbeck executed the resulting free-kick less than 23 yards from the posts.
Despite the fact that the free-kick was taken further forward than it should have been, nothing can detract from Welbeck’s superb strike. The former United striker expertly lofted his shot over the wall and past Senne Lammens.
Brighton’s Charalampos Kostoulas then netted another goal, sending shockwaves through Old Trafford. However, United held their nerve, scoring a fourth in injury time to secure a 4-2 victory.
Bryan Mbeumo netted twice, with Matheus Cunha and Casemiro also scoring for the Reds as they secured their third consecutive Premier League victory for the first time since August 2024.
Reflecting on his team’s triumph over Brighton, Amorim shared after the match: “I feel good. I think we played well but we suffered in the end, a little bit, our fault in the way we conceded the first goal.
“You can sense that, in that time of the game, we are near the fourth goal, not to suffer one. But they did everything. They run, they play with the ball, they kept the ball when it was needed. So it was a good game.
“You have the game under control and then you suffer a goal,” Amorim continued. “And then we suffer a little bit. They have a lot of talent. They have a lot of quality with the ball and they control that and they use that momentum to control the game. But we are improving in the way we respond to bad moments, and today, we did it again.
“We respond a little bit better and that’s really important. We know how to suffer. If we suffer together, it’s so much easier to win games.”
