Manchester United have ended their three-match winless streak, beating Brighton at Old Trafford on Tuesday night! It was a much needed win for Ralf Rangnick side, as the Red Devils won 2-0 thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
Man United returned to their winning ways after an improved second-half performance. Ronaldo had a beautiful and powerful finish just six minutes into the second half, before Fernandes made the most out of Paul Pogba’s eighth Premier League assist of the season deep into the stoppage time. Here is everything we learned from United’s 12th league victory.
Worse Performance But Better Result
Interestingly, in the last two matches in the league, which both ended 1-1, Man United were quite good in the first half, creating opportunities and taking the lead. But that was not all – both times there was a feeling United could have scored more. But this time, things changed. Man United were poor in the first half, there performance was not at the level of some previous displays in the opening 45 minutes. And yet, they managed to get the win this time. United considerably improved in the second half. After Brighton’s ongoing pressure in the first half, Rangnick’s side managed to turn things around and get a win.
Cristiano Finally Scores
Cristiano Ronaldo was on his longest goalless streak since 2010 and his early Real Madrid days. But that streak is now finally over, with the Portuguese star scoring his first goal in 2022. After getting the ball from McTominay, Ronaldo rushed forwards and emphatically smashed the ball while surrounded by numerous Brighton players. It was a strong bottom corner strike which will hopefully provide a much needed boost to Ronaldo.
De Gea The Saviour – Again
What would United do without David de Gea? He was often questioned and had his big dips in performances in the recent years, but this season, he is again proving to be incredibly valuable. He made three saves against Brighton, but if it was not for those saves, Jakub Moder would have hada a brace to his name by the end of the first half. United’s defence is far from getting it right on a regular basis, but it is always good when De Gea is ready to make a couple important saves.
Defence Earns A Clean Sheet – Finally
Man United have kept a clean sheet for the first time in three weeks and after three 1-1 scorelines in a row. But this clean sheet will not mean much if it does not get the United defence to work properly towards repeating it more often. United have conceded 32 goals – as many as Man City and Chelsea combined. Or, we could say that is 15 goals more conceded than Wolves or three more than bottom-placed Burnley! But maybe the worst stat which shows just how much Man United have struggled in this regard is that this team has not had consecutive matches in all competitions with a clean sheet since March 2021. It was when United defeated West Ham and Milan 1-0 last year that that has not happened since. Rangnick is still trying to make the defence work properly, but let’s see what the next few matches will show us.
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