19 January 2025
Man Utd 1 Brighton 3
It had been a sad week for Man Utd fans after hearing of the death of one of their greats, Denis Law. Bagpipes played before the game as everyone inside Old Trafford observed a minute’s silence. After paying their respects, attentions turned to getting a result against Brighton. The Red Devils were still languishing in the bottom half of the table.
The Seagulls were looking to press the hosts high up the pitch. As a result, they stole possession and went on the attack. Joao Pedro’s cross was beaten away by Onana, straight into Welbeck. Fortunately it went wide of the goal. It was a let-off for Amorim’s side but raised questions about their ability to play his style of football, again.
Those who had the pleasure, or misfortune depending on your allegiances, to witness the Alex Ferguson era are stunned watching the Red Devils play now. Never did sides come to Old Trafford dominating possession and the game in general as they do now. Brighton looked like they had all the time in the world to pass the ball around with no pressure whatsoever.
A ball was clipped over the top of the defence for the pacey Mitoma to run onto. He made a beeline for the goal but as Onana closed him down, he squared it for Minteh to slot home and give the visitors the lead after only five minutes. This is like some nightmare for the Man Utd fans that they just seem unable to wake up from.
Hurzeler’s side then got themselves into all sorts of trouble as a pass from Verbruggen went straight to Mainoo. His pass found Zirkzee in the box, who was hauled to the floor by Baleba. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Fernandes stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to draw his side level in the match.
After the interval Brighton came on the front foot once again. Mainoo bundled over Welbeck and The Seagulls won a free kick in a dangerous area. As the hosts struggled to clear their lines, Joao Pedro turned superbly before slotting it past Onana to restore the lead for the visitors. However, there was still a VAR review to get past.
The referee was sent to the monitor and it was deemed that Dalot was fouled by van Hecke in the build-up. Another reprieve for Man Utd. Amorim would have just been hoping that his side would wake up in defence to stop putting themselves under such intense pressure. Things just do not seem to be clicking under their new manager currently.
Brighton were bossing the game at this stage. As it was played out wide to Minteh, he clipped a teasing cross into the back post. Mitoma arrived to slide in and convert to give The Seagulls a well-deserved lead at Old Trafford. There was no way a VAR review was going to save them this time. Mazraoui was day-dreaming as the ball came in, completely unaware of who was around him.
Despite falling behind, there seemed to be no impetus from Man Utd to try and find a way back into the game. It all seemed so easy for the visitors to control things. Passing it around, making the hosts chase the ball, it was like a role reversal from what we are used to seeing from the Red Devils when they welcomed sides to Old Trafford.
With the attacking threat Hurzeler’s side have, you can only allow them to do this for so often until they punish you. March, who was impressing since coming on, looked to slide a pass in behind the defence. It seemed as though it would be a simple ball for Onana to collect. As he slid out to gather, he spilled it into the path of Rutter.
The grateful Brighton attacker took it around the keeper and slotted into the back of the net to ensure that the visitors would be leaving Old Trafford with all the points. Many have lauded Onana this season and said how he is a golden gloves contender. Whatever these people are smoking must be good stuff as this keeper has multiple clangers in his locker, every game.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side held on for the win and moved up to ninth in the Premier League table. Man Utd however are still languishing in thirteenth place. Everyone seems to be expecting there to be a moment where the Red Devils turn things around and push towards the top four but this just seems like a flight of fantasy.
What will worry the fans more are the comments from their manager post-match. In his media duties, Amorim said that they were the worst team in the history of Man Utd. That will not inspire confidence in their abilities to turn this around. They are looking devoid of confidence and the future is looking far from bright at the moment.
Man Utd have a run of very winnable fixtures coming up. Maybe their manager is saying these things for his players to prove him wrong. They need to put a string of wins together if they are to move up the table and have the chance to do that now. That said, every one of the teams they are due to face will be looking forward to playing them more at the moment.
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