Manchester United managed to get their first win of the Premier League campaign, despite being the worse team on the pitch, allowing numerous goalscoring opportunities to the opposition and scoring the same amount of times before the first of the two final whistles.
That purposefully sounds confusing, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won 3-2 at Brighton and Hove Albion’s Amex Stadium, with goals through Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes accompanied by a Lewis Dunk own goal following Harry Maguire’s shot.
Brighton got the lead through Neal Maupay from the penalty spot and equalised five minutes into the stoppage time with a Solly March goal, but that was not enough for them to at least get a point. Here is what we learned from this match.
Man United Win After The Game Ends
It was an unusual match at the Amex Stadium, with Brighton earning a 2-2 draw through March late on in the stoppage time and after a corner kick, referee blew the final whistle… But it still did not end 2-2. The referee of this game was then signalised that there was a VAR situation and that Brighton have made a penalty that the referee at first did not see. After consulting VAR, it was decided that the Devils will get the penalty and that it will be the last kick of the game.
Bruno Fernandes stepped up and converted it coolly and only then the match actually ended, with United getting all three points. It was a first time to see something like this in the modern VAR era. Instead of one, Man United now have three points after the first two rounds.
Devils Lucky Brighton Did Not Score More
However, with Man United conceding twice, they ended up with five goals conceded in the first 180 minutes of football this season, but that number could have easily been bigger. The main reason for that was Brighton getting into numerous chances, managing to hit the woodwork on incredible five occasions!
Brighton had 18 shots in this match, five of them going on target (with De Gea making three saves) and another five beating the Spanish goalkeeper, but not the goal itself. Leandro Trossard even got a ‘hat-trick’ of sorts, since three of those five woodwork hits came after his shots.
United Far From Top Gear
This was very far from the team Manchester United believe they can be. Man United were sloppy and unimaginative – Marcus Rashford excluded, as he scoring a lovely solo goal – and Brighton were the far better team. They were organised and knew what they wanted to do at all times, both with and without the ball.
It is true Man United had a shorter pre-season, but it is not like these players do not know each other nor that other sides had a considerably longer pre-season. Crystal Palace and Brighton were both better than United and Solskjaer should be very worried if things keep going this way.
Lamptey Shows Brighton’s Shrewd Business
Brighton are a side known in the last few years for making some shrewd businesses in the transfer market, as they are not as wealthy as some other English clubs. They have to find ways to improve without overspending too much and they did exactly that with Tariq Lamptey. Once again, the right-back showed it was a very good business for Brighton to sign him permanently from Chelsea.
He was really good against his former club in a recent match and today he repeated that performance, even earning the penalty after which Brighton scored the opener. Lamptey has shown he is a creative dynamic passer from a defensive position and with a diminutive frame he can be nimlby and tough to stop.
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