BRIGHTON, England — Brighton secured a stunning 1-0 win over Manchester United thanks to Alexis Mac Allister‘s penalty in the 99th minute on Thursday night at the AMEX Stadium.
Andre Marriner needed the help of VAR to award the penalty after a late Brighton corner found Luke Shaw‘s outstretched arm deep into injury time. Mac Allister took his time and fired past David de Gea to give Brighton a deserved victory over Eric ten Hag’s United.
The visitors had the better of the first-half chances with Antony and Marcus Rashford going close while Kaoru Mitoma had Brighton’s best opportunity early on as he found himself in plenty of space in United’s box only to fire his effort straight at De Gea’s head, an effort which dazed the goalkeeper.
The second-half threatened to boil over in various moments with United lucky to finish with 11 players on the field but while some lost their cool, both teams tried to find that elusive winner. Brighton edged the latter stages with until they won that last, decisive penalty.
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Rapid reaction
1. United wasteful when chances came along
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United started Thursday four points ahead of Liverpool in the race for the top four and had their fair share of chances extend that gap. With Liverpool showing signs of a return to form under Jurgen Klopp, United would have been mindful of their rival’s momentum look to solidify their spot in the Champions League spots. But they failed to control the match in the closing stages as they left Brighton with yet another away defeat to their name.
United had chances to win this match with Antony guilty of squandering a great chance after just two minutes as he fired wide when put through. Marcus Rashford — who was running at makeshift right-back Moises Caicedo — had a great chance in the first half with Jason Steele saving well at his near post, while Antony Martial also saw a close-range effort saved by the impressive Brighton keeper.
Second-half chances were less frequent for the visitors with Bruno Fernandes drawing a decent save from Steele as United failed to find the elusive winner. In the end they had to rely on De Gea to keep Brighton out until that late winner.
It’s been the story of their journeys away from Old Trafford this season. Manchester United’s away record against teams in the top 10 is dismal, having now just won one of their last 14 encounters (the 2-1 win over Fulham in November thanks to Alejandro Garnacho‘s 93rd minute goal). It’s a concern and one which Ten Hag will have to fix if they are to put together a robust title charge next season.
Ten Hag would have also paid attention to moments where his players lost their cool, with United lucky to finish without going a man. Casemiro was fortunate not to get a second yellow card in the second half for a scything tackle while Antony also lost his cool also with Alexis Mac Allister as he sparked a small brawl after landing a poor tackle on the Argentine. It was a poor night for United, and a glorious one for Brighton.
