Manchester United won their third consecutive Premier League game in an entertaining encounter against Brighton – Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were the stars, but United still managed to give their fans a bit of a scare before they got over the line.
Ruben Amorim named a predictable enough side, recalling Leny Yoro in place of last week’s hero Harry Maguire, and bringing Benjamin Sesko back into the attack. Brighton had won on their previous three visits to Old Trafford but were under the cosh from the off.
United were bright and inventive and could have had the lead even earlier than the 24th minute, when they finally did, thanks to a smart Matheus Cunha effort from the edge of the box. Ten minutes later, Casemiro had a speculative effort from outside the box, and it deflected into the Brighton net for a goal that reflected the superiority of the hosts.
Rarely have United been in such a commanding position in the last couple of years, and their supporters were in dreamland when Mbeumo made it 3-0 – Cunha did well, then so did Sesko, and the Cameroon international did even better with a cute strike in the near post.
Amorim had got everything right – and decided to take the opportunity to rest Luke Shaw for Ayden Heaven, and then introduce Kobbie Mainoo for Casemiro. However, Mainoo is not a Casemiro, and Brighton’s own changes saw them flood the midfield and grow in confidence, especially when Danny Welbeck scored a fine free-kick. To the United manager’s credit, he immediately recognised the danger and sent on Manu Ugarte and Josh Zirkzee to stem the tide, but by then, the visitors were flowing and were encouraged by Anthony Taylor’s strange decision to award a minimum of seven minutes of stoppage time (more on that in a minute).
Senne Lammens was called upon to make a couple of saves but was powerless to prevent Kostoulas from nodding in from a corner in the second of those seven minutes. So it was all set for a grandstand finish – but Kobbie Mainoo was smart in running down the clock on a couple of occasions, and then, in the last seconds, Heaven put through Mbeumo, who finished emphatically to bring the house down and secure the result.
Amorim could breathe a sigh of relief. Substitutions are not always necessary, especially when your team plays once a week – and yet you could understand why, at 3-0, he felt it appropriate to make the changes he did. That left the players on the pitch with a test of resolve which they just about passed but will surely vindicate the manager when it comes to the critics (of which I have been one) who have wanted Mainoo and Fernandes paired together.
The anxiety of the conclusion of the game does not detract from the fact that for the first hour, United were fantastic, and the atmosphere after the third goal in particular was electric. Of course, there have been the odd occasion in recent years where the elements have combined to create memorable Old Trafford nights, but the vibrancy and joy after Mbeumo’s third evoked a feeling not conjured around these parts for quite some time. It was not quite the resurrection, but for the first time really since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager, there was a sense of fluidity and direction and pure enjoyment in what the supporters were seeing.
These are, however, baby steps, and as all will say, eyes turn to Spurs next week. Amorim has faced plenty of criticism on a result by result basis though and should receive the appropriate praise in return.
Anthony Taylor, meanwhile, will surely be relieved that the result made his own performance academic. There were no poor conditions, nor was the game played at a particularly frenzied pace, nor was it violent – so there was no excuse for the number of bizarre decisions. Two penalty shouts left United fans frustrated, especially one on Amad that felt worthy of a review, but it was a succession of poor decisions throughout that made this hard-going.
Brighton also had their own reason to complain after substitute Patrick Dorgu brought down Yankuba Minteh when he was through on goal – the visitors wanted a red card, Taylor presented a yellow.
United were worthy winners, with Cunha and Mbeumo fantastic again, and the decision to bring them in justified once more as the attack looks completely revitalised. These are small steps – and nobody is brave enough to declare a corner has truly been turned – but they are steps in the right direction and it is a long time since things have felt quite as positive as this at Old Trafford.
In fact, the last time they did was probably around the time of the League Cup success of 2023… and that tells you that the feeling can be fleeting. So you might as well enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
Ratings : Lammens 7, Yoro 7, De Ligt 7, Shaw 7, Amad 7, Casemiro 7, Fernandes 7, Dalot 7, Mbeumo 9, Cunha 8, Sesko 6
Subs : Heaven 6, Mainoo 6, Dorgu 5, Ugarte, Zirkzee
