Manchester United 4-2 Brighton: Matheus Cunha and Brian Mbeumo change their style to help Ruben Amorim’s side win their third consecutive Premier League title
Manchester United’s new attack kicked into gear to defeat the Brighton side as Ruben Amorim’s side overcame a late scare to beat the Seagulls 4-2.
The hosts, fresh off their memorable win against Liverpool last week, broke the deadlock midway through the first half with the help of Matheus Cunha. Cunha scored his first United goal with a perfect shot from the edge of the box after Casemiro.
The Red Devils didn’t have to wait too long when Casemiro joined the attack, but his shot was deflected past Bad Verbruggen by a big deflection from the unlucky Yassin Ayari.
United continued to threaten after the break and it looked like the game would end when the excellent Brian Mbeumo slipped in for Benjamin Sesko.
Goals from Danny Welbeck and Sharalampos Kostoulas produced a nervy finale, but Mbeumo’s second goal of the game in the dying seconds sealed United’s third successive win. Introducing key points from important mirror football games…
read more: Mason Greenwood opens up for shock reunion with Marcus Rashford in Barcelona transfer planread more: Carlos Baleva deletes Manchester United social media post hours before match against Brighton
1. Hoodoo falls again.
Brighton have been a bogey-prone team for Manchester United in recent years. But Ruben Amorim’s men somehow got rid of the bastard at Old Trafford before Brighton panicked late on.
The visiting side got off to a bright start and were duly rewarded when Cunha scored his first goal for the Red Devils past Verbruggen. Brighton fought back in the closing stages, but the glow of another big result won’t fade for United and Amorim, who finally achieved their first consecutive Premier League wins last weekend.
2. Return on £200m investment
Much has been made of Manchester United’s transfer activity in recent years, with claims that they overpaid on some contracts, so the decision to spend more than £200m on a new attack this summer was likely to remain under constant scrutiny until the outcome.
Thankfully for the Red Devils, their decision to spend big on Cunha and Brian Mbeumo seems to be improving by the week. Mbeumo showed some brilliance here as well, before scoring two goals. He and Benjamin Sesco were already off the mark and Cunha joined them with a fine finish to put United back on track.
As Gary Neville said in his commentary, it is too early to pass judgment on Sesco given that he is adapting to a new league, but there are positive signs and the trio looked good after the Slovenian star was benched against Liverpool.
But Mbeumo and Cunha arrived at Old Trafford with Premier League pedigree and are now living up to their top wages.
3. Baleba at Old Trafford
Carlos Baleva turned up at the Theater of Dreams on Saturday night, albeit wearing a Brighton shirt, after months of speculation linking him with a move to Old Trafford.
Unfortunately for the Seagulls midfielder, he was on the losing side and once again looked like an empty shell of a brilliant player as the much-maligned Casemiro helped United win the midfield battle last season.
It remains to be seen whether United will reignite their interest in Baleva, who was sent off an hour ago.
4. Houellebecq’s counterattack
Manchester United looked much better with Senne Lamence scoring, but they could not prevent Danny Welbeck from scoring a nice consolation for Brighton.
The United academy graduate is now 34 years old, but he continues to shine at the top level, to the point where a move was thought to be unlikely for his former club in the summer.
Unfortunately for him and Brighton, his super strike meant nothing in the end.
5. Reuben’s reversal
Just a few weeks ago, following Manchester United’s recent poor form, it began to appear that Amorim was in the final stages of his life. Yet when the final whistle blew on Saturday night, United were fourth in the Premier League table.
By the time seven minutes of second-half stoppage time had been added, it was clear there was a sense of tension around Old Trafford. This shows that United still have a long way to go before they can be confident they have turned a corner. But recent performance, coinciding with an upturn in business, suggests things are moving in the right direction.
Amorim deserves huge credit for turning United’s momentum under enormous levels of scrutiny. There may still be question marks surrounding the United manager, but with more results like this, those will soon be a thing of the past.
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