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Ed Woodward shouldn’t be fooled by the score. While it was comfortable in the end, the clamor for Manchester United to strengthen their attack will only intensify after this misshapen performance from their second row. The search must continue, even if Borussia Dortmund remains firm on Jadon Sancho.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær made his point clear when he headed to his bench moments after Dean Henderson prevented Brighton’s Leandro Trossard from disallowing Scott McTominay’s goal. After trying to give Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford the night off, the manager called them into action and United pulled away to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
“We are done, so that’s the job in the cup,” Solskjær said. “We deserved it in the end. Some quality moments from some of our players gave us the goals. We defended well. After a difficult start we have got it back. Confidence comes, sharpness comes. It’s not a classic performance, but scoring goals is always good. “
The pressing issue for United is whether they have enough quality behind their usual attack. They need to score more than Donny van de Beek, whose handsome assist for Juan Mata’s goal showed he is likely to be a useful signing. An injury to Rashford or Anthony Martial would put them short up front and Mason Greenwood is too young to play every week, but it doesn’t make sense for Solskjær to rely on his reserves to step up when the stars need to rest.
Rashford, Greenwood and Martial deserve the support of their teammates who can maintain high standards when they enter the side. United do not have enough weapons for a club in its category and Solskjær saw reinforcements needed after bringing in some of the minor lights for his team’s second trip to Brighton in the space of five days.
United were woefully short of creativity during a forgettable opening period, save for a moment of invention that almost resulted in an early breakthrough. After a quiet start, Daniel James and Mata combined on the left, opening Brighton with a quick exchange of passes and releasing Odion Ighalo, who missed an open goal after circling Jason Steele.
It was an isolated flurry from United, who found it difficult to put Van de Beek on the ball in role 10. Brighton’s five-man defense was comfortable and the hosts began to play after a shy start. Alireza Jahanbakhsh saw a shot parried by Henderson, David de Gea’s substitute on goal, and Alexis Mac Allister shot to the top of the net after a twisty run from the left.
Brighton held his ground and kicked himself after falling behind with a soft goal. Dan Burn was caught out of position and booked for fouling Mata, who threw the free throw for McTominay to pass Steele. “We were in the game, then we were disappointed by the goal,” said Graham Potter. “It was cheap.”
It was hard not to wonder if the Brighton manager should have chosen a stronger team. This was an opportunity to reach the last eight of a cup and they were short on edge until Jahanbakhsh was injured early in the second half. Neal Maupay came in, looking to make amends after his last-minute handball gave United its winning penalty last weekend.
United had more to think about with Maupay on the field. They tried to play at halftime but couldn’t keep the ball. James’ dribbles lacked conviction and Ighalo was put down by Lewis Dunk. At one point, Van de Beek, used to a more cerebral style when he was at Ajax, could be seen urging his new teammates to be calmer on the ball.
Brighton nearly punished United’s carelessness, only for Henderson to make a point-blank save from Trossard. Solskjær had seen enough. Rashford and Pogba walked in and the game ended when Van de Beek’s beautiful film released Mata, who ended smartly. “Juan created more or less every moment in this game,” Solskjaer said. “He is a very valuable member of this team.”
Moments later, Pogba’s deflected free throw flew from 25 yards. United had finally made his class count.
