Brighton 2-3 Man Utd: spectacular penalty in injury time gives victory to Manchester United

A dramatic stoppage time penalty gave Manchester United the victory at Brighton and their first three points of the season in an impressive game at Amex Stadium.

Moments earlier, Brighton thought they had sealed a point that would have been the least they deserved when Solly March headed a cross from Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

It was a fitting ending to a crazy seesaw game that had seen Albion take the lead via a Maupay penalty before United rose again thanks to an own goal from Lewis Dunk and a superb solo effort from Marcus Rashford.

As if that wasn’t enough, the home team also hit the wood five times (with Leandro Trossard responsible for three of them), saw a penalty awarded voided by the VAR and another potential rejected by Kavanagh.

In addition, the visitors had two goals disallowed for offside.

But despite still far from their best, it is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team that emerges with a first victory of the Premier League campaign, helping to quell some of the criticism that followed their surprise defeat in the opening match against Crystal Palace.

For Brighton, it’s a total defeat at the end of an emotional roller coaster: the second of three games.

United shows fighting spirit

It speaks to the chaotic nature of United’s loss to Palace that such a chaotic and fortunate victory is a step forward for Solskjaer’s side.

There was still much to criticize on his display at the Amex: a still flexible-looking defense that tried but ultimately failed to protect a 2-1 lead, a midfield packed with quality but lacking the cohesion witnessed on last shoot. . season and a great gulf in quality from the first eleven to the bench.

Fernandes could have scored the winning penalty, but it was his fault that Brighton scored the first goal, courtesy of an awkward foul on the newly animated Tariq Lamptey.

Harry Maguire played his role in that opener’s tie with his presence in the Brighton area that forced Dunk to hit a Nemanja Matic header, but he was nowhere to be found when March headed home late.

However, the United boss can now at least point to a fighting spirit, depth of resolve and signs of acuity returning to his three forwards as pillars on which to build.

Rashford was particularly impressive and was involved in much of his good attacking play.

Although on two occasions he slightly deviated from the game to cause the dismissal of two goals, first for Greenwood and then for himself, he made peace with a brilliant solo goal.

Having entered the area, the England forward swung one way and the next and passed Brighton’s tackles before firing a deflected shot into the net.

David de Gea also deserves some credit for a superb point-blank save to deny Trossard moments before March’s header caused the injury-time craze.

Brighton victims of their own waste

In the final stages of the game, television cameras captured Brighton’s boss, Graham Potter, in slow motion on a long, shaky breath, and it’s no wonder.

After impressing in the loss to Chelsea before cleaning the pitch with Newcastle, his team once again demonstrated what it’s all about with a patient, effective and incisive display that should have given them one point and could easily have given them all three.

The failure of either of them is partly due to a new handball law that continues to penalize defenders harshly, but also to their own inability to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them.

Trossard is an excellent player and was instrumental in Albion’s display, but he has developed a frustrating ability to hit the wood instead of the net.

He was somewhat unfortunate with the two long range attempts that hit the post in the first half, but he definitely should have scored with the second-half shot that hit the crossbar.

The salt on Brighton’s wounds is the fact that the VAR disallowed their own penalty after the break, although when they see it they can agree with the officials that Connolly was pulling on Pogba’s jersey before falling under a clumsy defiance.

Just three months ago, Potter’s team was overtaken here by United, falling 3-0 without a glove.

This, then, is definite progress and something to build on once the disappointment of the result subsides.

By the whim of fate, these two will do it again all Wednesday, when they meet in a fourth round tie of the Carabao Cup.

Man of the match – Leandro Trossard (Brighton)

Brighton claims unwanted registration

• Brighton hit the wood five times in this game, the most teams any team has done in a single Premier League game since Opta began recording this data (2003-04).
• Manchester United have won each of the last four Premier League meetings with Brighton, their longest joint winning streak against a top-flight team (also 4 against Leicester).
• Since the start of last season, Manchester United’s Premier League games have produced 20 penalties, the most of any team in that time (15 for, 5 against).
• Manchester United have conceded a penalty in consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since March 2009; it is the first time the Red Devils have conceded one in their first two games in a Premier League campaign.
• Tariq Lamptey is the first player to win penalties in consecutive Premier League games with Brighton.
• Manchester United’s David de Gea has saved only two of the 29 penalties he has faced in the Premier League. Of the goalkeepers who will face more than 25 shots from the spot in the competition, only Paul Robinson has saved a smaller proportion (6.1% to De Gea’s 6.9%).
• Since his Premier League debut in August 2017, Brighton’s Lewis Dunk has scored five own goals in the competition, at least two more than any other player.
• Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has been involved in 17 goals in his 16 Premier League appearances (9 goals, 8 assists).
• Fernandes’ goal for Manchester United at 99:45 is the last scored in the Premier League since Juan Mata’s goal for Chelsea against Norwich in August 2011 (100:03).
• Leandro Trossard is the first player to hit the wood three times in a Premier League match since Cristiano Ronaldo vs Newcastle United in October 2006.

Whats Next?

Following Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie, Brighton will travel to Everton for the start at 15:00 BST on Saturday 3 October.

United play at home to José Mourinho’s Tottenham the next day (16:30).