Brighton 0-3 Manchester United – Manchester United put in an impressive display to ease past a below par Brighton at the Amex Stadium as the Red Devils continue to push for a Champions League place after a convincing away win.
First half:
The visitors Manchester United were in control of the first half from minute one and the closest they came in the opening minutes was when Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes’s strike from outside the box struck the post and then fellow midfielder Paul Pogba had his follow up blocked as it seemed only a matter of time before United broke the deadlock early on.
Manchester United did get a deserved breakthrough in 16thminute when talented youngster Mason Greenwood’s shot crept in at the near post give Manchester United the lead with just over a quarter of an hour gone as 18 year old Mason Greenwood continues to look a future star in the making with a very well taken goal.
29 minutes played and Manchester United were then 0-2 up when Paul Pogba set up Bruno Fernandes just outside the box and Fernandes’s shot took a deflection off Alexis Mac Allister to beat goalkeeper Matt Ryan once again at his near post as a dominant Manchester United were making easy work of the Seagulls at the Amex Stadium in the opening half an hour.
Manchester United dominated the rest of the first half without creating any more clear-cut chances as Brighton had a first half to forget as they barely laid a glove on the Red Devils in a rare toothless first 45 minutes from the hosts who were being out played by the much superior visitors.
Second half:
Manchester United picked up where they left off after the half time break by adding a third goal just 5 minutes in to the second half when a fantastic counter attack by the Red Devils ended with a Mason Greenwood cross which was volleyed home by Bruno Fernandes for his second goal of the game and Manchester United’s third to surely seal the 3 points already just 50 minutes in, this was a goal that was just like the old days from Manchester United.
Brighton did start to grow in to the game after they went 0-3 down but it was too little too late and they came relatively close when Alexis Mac Allister’s well worked free kick found an unmarked Lenandro Trossard whose left footed shot flashed wide of the far post.
Brighton came close again not long after when forward Aaron Connolly turned and hit a shot that seemed top corner bound was very well tipped over the crossbar by David De Gea to keep his clean sheet intact for the time being.
Brighton had one last close attempt in the game when substitute Neal Maupay’s left footed shot was deflected and once again David De Gea had to make a save to keep his and Manchester United’s clean sheet intact.
Manchester United did manage to maintain their clean sheet in the end as the Red Devils came away from the Amex Stadium with a dominant 0-3 victory against a Brighton sidewho posed little threat to Manchester United’s now 8 Premier League match undefeated streak.
Full time:
Man of the match:
Bruno Fernandes – What an impact this man has made at Manchester United since joining in January. This was another inspiring performance from the Portuguese midfielder putting in tremendous work rate all game and bagging two goals in an all-round excellent midfield display.
Fascinating facts:
This was the first time Manchester United have ever avoided defeat at the Amex Stadium after losing there in the last two Premier League seasons (1-0), and (3-2).
This was the first time that Bruno Fernandes has scored twogoals in a game for Manchester United.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba bagged his first assist for Manchester United since the opening day of the Premier League season which was against Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Mason Greenwood’s assist for Bruno Fernandes was the 18 year olds first ever assist in the Premier League.
Brighton have now failed to score in 4 of their last 5 Premier League games.
This was Brighton forward Alexis Mac Allister’s first start for Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
This was the first time that Brighton have conceded 3 goals in a Premier League home match this season.
Talking points:
Is this the most promising Manchester United have looked in a while? Manchester United fans being excited hasn’t been a regular thing since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, but with now being 15 games unbeaten in all competitions and playing some free flowing football with the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba linking up in midfield, is this finally a time Manchester United fans can start thinking about challenging for the big trophies again? It might be too early to say just yet, but things are certainly looking promising for the Red Devils especially after this display at Brighton which was full of quality.
How good will 18 year old Mason Greenwood become in the future? Mason Greenwood has now scored 13 goals in all competitions this season and 6 of them have been in the Premier League, the 18 year old proved with this performance that he is some talent and right now there seems no stopping him from becoming the next big thing at Manchester United or even the next big thing in Europe, the 18 year old seems to have the world at his feet.
Bruno Fernandes fantastic once again – Since joining Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes has made a huge impact and pretty much turned this team around in a big way with his work rate, his creativity, and his eagerness to win matches which are all traits you need to be a Manchester United player and once again away at Brighton, Fernandes was instrumental and the star of the show.
Manchester United keep up the pressure on 4th place Chelsea – Manchester United closed the gap on 4th place Chelsea to just 2 points even know the Red Devils have played a game more, keeping the pressure on at this point of the season is crucial and Manchester United right now look as though they could take the race to the very end in their quest to get back in the Champions League next season continues.
Would Brighton’s performance have been so lacklustre if the crowd were present? Brighton have beaten Manchester United on the last two occasions that the Red Devils have visited the Amex Stadium but on this occasion the hosts barely posed a threat on Manchester United, but with Brighton needing one or two more wins to make sure of their Premier League status next season would the crowd have motivated the Seagulls more here to better performance? Not saying Brighton would have won the game but surely they would have performed with more intensity than they did in the 90 minutes.
Sam’s match reports 