Brighton 0 Man Utd 2
Roberto De Zerbi took on Man Utd in his last game in charge of The Seagulls. For the visitors, they needed at least a draw to prevent their worst ever Premier League points tally. Erik ten Hag has a lot of unwanted records, he did not want to add to that collection.
The hosts started the better of the two sides and were playing some nice football. As the ball was threaded through the United defence, Barco had a sight of goal. He took one touch to steady himself before getting a shot away but Onana saved with his feet.
Brighton forced a corner and as the cross came in, Webster headed it towards goal. As Onana tried to save, Martinez intervened to knock the ball over the crossbar and keep the scores level. The visitors were struggling to find a foothold in the game.
As the ball was played into Lallana in the box, he could not adjust his feet quick enough to get a shot away. He held the ball up and laid it off to Joao Pedro who weaved his way into a shooting position before dragging his shot wide of the far post.
Credit: @OfficialBHAFC
De Zerbi’s side were creating all the chances but they just could not seem to find that killer instinct in front of goal. Man Utd had offered next to nothing in an attacking sense in the entire half. You start to wonder if there is a turning point for this side under Erik ten Hag.
After the interval, Brighton continued to dominate. As the ball was cut back from the byline, Joao Pedro was unmarked six yards out. As he looked to bury his shot, Casemiro did brilliantly to clear it off the line and deny the hosts a certain goal. Lallana followed up but his effort deflected over the bar.
As the Red Devils lofted a long ball forward, it was poorly dealt with by the Brighton defence. It dropped to Dalot who ran through on goal and slotted the ball past Steele to give the visitors the lead much against the run of play.
If Man Utd were to win this game, no doubt we would have the same deluded post-match press conference from their manager. Stating how proud he is of his players, how they dug deep and got the job done to take all three points.
That is all well and good but this side look a shambles and only the dreadful finishing of Brighton had resulted in them still being in a game at all. There is so much wrong with this team as a new manager coming in, you would not know where to start to turn things around.
Two substitutes combined and Eriksen played the ball to Hojlund, who dribbled it past The Seagulls defence, with no willing to make a challenge. He slotted his shot past Steele to double their lead and ensure that victory was theirs.
Credit: @ManUtd
The result may paper over the cracks for Man Utd but their league position and the fact they finished with a negative goal difference says it all. Unless they can beat Man City in the FA Cup final, they will not have any European football next season.
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