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Manchester United‘s dismal home form continued as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford. The loss — their fourth home defeat in five games and sixth overall this season, their most in the opening 12 home matches since the 1893-94 season.
Yankuba Minteh’s early goal put Brighton ahead, catching United off guard. However, United responded before halftime, with Amad Diallo winning the ball high up the pitch and leading to a foul by Carlos Baleba on Joshua Zirkzee. Bruno Fernandes converted the resulting penalty to level the score.
Despite the equalizer, United’s performance was lackluster, with not a single shot on target from open play. Brighton, on the other hand, continued to threaten, with Joao Pedro thinking he had restored their lead, only for VAR to rule it out for a foul by Jan Paul van Hecke.
Brighton’s persistence paid off in the second half, as Minteh turned provider for Kaoru Mitoma’s goal. Mitoma beat Noussair Mazraoui at the far post to put Brighton ahead once again.
United’s misery was compounded by Andre Onana’s goalkeeping error, which led to Brighton’s third goal. Onana inexplicably pushed a tame cross into the path of Georginio Rutter, who scored easily.
The defeat means United missed the opportunity to move up from 13th in the Premier League table. In contrast, Brighton leapfrogged Fulham to ninth place.
The match was played on a day when Old Trafford paid tribute to Manchester United great Denis Law, who passed away at the age of 84. However, the team’s performance did not do justice to his memory.
Brighton’s win marked their third consecutive victory at Old Trafford, a show of their credentials, growing confidence and ability to compete against top teams.
United’s struggles at home continue to be a concern, with the team conceding the first goal in each of their last five Premier League games at Old Trafford. This marks their joint-longest ever such run in the competition.
With 10 defeats in 22 Premier League games, United have hit double figures for losses earlier than ever before in a league campaign since 1989-90 under Alex Ferguson.
