Brighton vs MU 2020/21 British League Cup Round 1/8 Results

Final: Brighton 0-3 MU
Objective: McTominay (44); Eyes (73); Pogba (80)

Last weekend, MU won 3-2 at Brighton’s Amex Stadium in the 2020/21 Premier League third round. However, it was a game in which the Red Devils played poorly, especially on defense. If he is not incredibly blessed by the god of luck, MU would have to leave empty handed. Remember, Brighton has at least … 5 times De Gea’s crossbar and goalpost.

And yet, a 3-2 win was also achieved after the referee blew the whistle to end the match, something unprecedented in Premier League history.

Such a victory, of course, cannot hide the “machine” that coach Ole Solskjaer is operating has too many problems. The first is in defense. Before Brighton, the No. 1 right-back Wan-Bissaka played, but in the end, Wan-Bissaka’s wing was the most exploited by Brighton. In particular, Brighton’s 2-2 draw came from the situation where Wan-Bissaka’s wing was cut off.

Not only that, the MU midfielder did not bring a sense of security, especially in Victor Lindelof’s position. Midfielder pair Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic also disappointed. Many times they created space in front of the 16m50 area for Brighton’s midfielders to take advantage of.

In fact, MU’s disappointment from the start of the 2020/21 season was in the expectations of many experts because, without a doubt, Red Man was ready for the new season. With the exception of Van de Beek, they haven’t added any notable additions so far.

It is the absence of “human doping” that makes MU lag behind its direct competitors in the Top 4. Look at Arsenal, Tottenham and especially how actively Chelsea have bought, to see the future. The Red Devils hybrid is really concerning.

Without stopping there, MU also has to deal with many internal problems before the new season. Harry Maguire was involved in a human beating scandal in Greece. Mason Greenwood was found taking girls to a hotel while reuniting for England and was returned to the club as a result. And Paul Pogba has just returned to the team after a quarantine period due to COVID-19.

Believing that in terms of ideology, MU wants to win the British League Cup fourth round match to build momentum for the Premier League main front, but clearly at this point, coach Solskjaer cannot risk it all. Therefore, he still had a series of pillars to rest, even some people were not registered (De Gea, Maguire, Matic, Bruno Fernandes, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka, Martial, …).

Only one face kept playing like Brighton’s Premier League victory a few days ago and unexpectedly it was midfielder Lindelof, the weakest link in MU’s defensive system. Joining Lindelof as the center of defense is Bailly, the player who would have had a lesser career at Old Trafford had he not been constantly injured.

Dalot, a player who thought that all the land that lived in MU assumed the role of right back, and the opposite wing belonged to Brandon Williams, the latest product that can be used from the youth academy. Fred and McTominay dominated the midfield like many games last season when Pogba was absent due to injury and Matic was fit.

When Bruno Fernandes is absent, the role of “number 10” seems to be destined for rookie Van de Beek. The Dutchman together with Daniel James and Juan Mata are the three spearheads of Ighalo’s steering wheel. Like MU, Brighton also replaced the majority of the starting list in the second match in just 4 days.

The confrontation between the two “B teams” at Amex Stadium was balanced in the first minutes and the professional quality was not too high, partly because of the heavy rain.

Exactly 18 minutes before the first significant opportunity appeared when from the left wing, Williams hit the ball into the 16m50 area for Mata and the Spaniard released the ball to create favorable conditions for Ighalo to overcome. the opponent’s goal but the last shot was not on target

Until the 26th minute, the Brighton owner had a real response when Bernardo pushed the ball to the second row for Jahanbakhsh to launch a quick shot to his left foot and Henderson had to take twice to catch the ball wet.

MU has the answer with a shot with Fred’s left foot, but the ball comes out light so it can’t be difficult for goalkeeper Steele. Fred played quite prominently in MU’s midfield from the start of the match thanks to his ability to contest and launch situations to launch precise attacks.

At the end of the first half, the Brighton owner proved to be overwhelming with the number of dangerous situations created. In the 37th minute, Mac Allister made an effort to get past the red jersey and then decisively in the 37th minute, but the ball hit Dean Henderson’s crossbar.

A few minutes later, Iranian player Jahanbakhsh confidently held the ball through the 16m50 area from the right, but in the end, the shot was inaccurate, although the opportunity was not small.

The idea of ​​the first half will end in a 0-0 draw, then in 44 minutes, MU took the lead. From the free kick on the right wing, Juan Mata hung the ball deep into the penalty area and McTominay was nearly offside and hit Brighton’s head.

After the break, the rain became stronger, but now it is no longer a problem for the visiting team because they have the advantage. 53 minutes, Fred made a free kick from a distance of 30 meters, the ball passed the barrier, but it was still not difficult enough to defeat Steele.

Like the match in the first half and third round of the British League Cup (3-0 win over Luton), MU’s “B-team” had enormous problems organizing the attack and the ball. The first responsibility belongs to the name assigned to lead the game in this game, Donny Van de Beek.

The Dutch midfielder was completely passed out from the start of the game and did not have a single brilliant pass, prompting coach Solskjaer to bring Pogba onto the field to help. In the 67th minute, Dean Henderson stopped Trossard’s close-up, the player hitting De Gea’s wooden frame at least 3 times in the match a few days ago.

It is unclear if it was because of Pogba’s appearance that Van de Beek finally made a mark. In the 73rd minute, he stepped on Juan Mata’s heels to escape, controlled calmly and finished off the point by knocking down Steele.

With 1 goal and 1 assist, Mata has shown how beneficial he is in the role of “strategic reserve” because in the last 15 main shots for MU, the midfielder contributed 13 goals (5 goals, 8 assists).

In the 80th minute, the score rose to 3-0 after Paul Pogba’s free kick on the left flank and the ball passed over a Brighton player standing on the fence, leaving goalkeeper Steele. Remember that throughout the season Pogba only scored 1 goal in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League last July.

84 minutes, almost to raise the score to 4-0 if Dalot finished more dangerous after the assistance of Juan Mata. Soon after, Jesse Lingard confidently stepped onto the field to kick the high corner. Goalkeeper Steele has to work hard to save Brighton.

Ultimately MU for the second time in a row in just four days beat Brighton to enter the quarter-finals of the British League Cup, but the setting for this match is completely different from the previous match. Without the help of the god of luck, nor using the strongest force, the “Red Devils” forced the opponent to lose “admiration”.

TEAM

BRIGHTON (3-4-3): Jason Steele; Dan Burn, Ben White, Lewis Dunk; Joel Veltman, Jayson Molumby (Sanders 81), Pascal Gross, Bernardo, Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Maupay 50 ‘), Viktor Gyokeres (Trossard 65’), Alexis Mac Allister.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Dean Henderson; Diogo Dalot, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Brandon Williams; Scott McTominay, Fred (Lingard 81 ‘); Juan Mata, Donny van de Beek, Daniel James (Pogba 69 ‘); Odion Ighalo (Rashford 69 ‘).

Bao Phuong