Premier League
BrightonBrighton & Hove Albion3Man UtdManchester United2

Brighton 3-2 Man Utd: Brighton score three first-half goals to stun visitors

By Gary RoseBBC Sport
Brighton
Brighton have now beaten Manchester United in three successive home league games

Manchester United did not show the right attitude in their surprise Premier League defeat at Brighton, says captain Paul Pogba.

The Seagulls, who beat Jose Mourinho's side at the Amex Stadium in May to retain their top-flight status, stunned their visitors by scoring three goals in the first half.

Glenn Murray flicked in the opener before Shane Duffy stroked home two minutes later.

Romelu Lukaku halved the deficit 11 minutes before the break, rising unmarked to nod in Luke Shaw's ball, but Pascal Gross converted a penalty after a foul by Eric Bailly.

Pogba also scored from the spot - deep in second-half stoppage time - but it was not enough to deny Brighton a famous win.

"The attitude that we had was not like we wanted to beat them. They had more anger than us and that showed on the pitch," Pogba told Sky Sports.

"I put myself first. My attitude wasn't right enough. We'll keep trying and keep pushing and obviously it's a lesson for us."

Man Utd punished for incredible mistakes - Mourinho

Mourinho said he would not blame individuals, despite admitting his side made "incredible mistakes".

The Portuguese has previously singled out players for criticism if he felt they performed below expectations but said his side were not good enough as a collective against Brighton.

"We were punished by the mistakes we made," he said. "For me that's the story of the game.

"We made incredible mistakes in some crucial moments. Mistakes that killed us."

Mourinho's fears come to fruition

Jose Mourinho
Mourinho had a frustrating summer in the transfer market

Mourinho warned in the summer that his side faced "a difficult season"external-link if they did not strengthen before the transfer window closed.

He had highlighted his team's defence as an area that needed bolstering, but deadline day passed without any new arrivals.

Mourinho's concerns were laid bare here, with his defence caught out on a number of occasions by Brighton's quick movement.

Bailly, in particular, struggled. Aside from giving away the penalty he also miscontrolled a pass in the second half that momentarily put March through before the Ivorian was able to recover.

Bailly and centre-back partner Victor Lindelof - both Mourinho signings - have now been a part of a defence that has conceded four goals in the first two games of the season. It took United nine to let in that many last season.

Fortress Amex as intimidating as ever

A victory Brighton very much deserved - Hughton

Brighton's home form played a huge part in their survival last season, with 29 of their 40 points secured at the Amex Stadium.

Once again, it looks like a trip to the south coast will be a difficult one for their Premier League rivals.

United may have been well below par but that should not take away from what was a controlled and confident display by the Seagulls against a side that finished second last season.

They took the game to their opponents from the outset, March working the defence with an early cross, and even the loss of influential defender Lewis Dunk did not disrupt them as Anthony Knockaert got in behind before putting his shot just wide.

Brighton did not have a shot after the break, but they did not need to as they changed tack from attack to containment. In the end it was a comfortable afternoon for Chris Hughton's side.

"I thought we were very good. It was a victory we deserved," said Hughton.

"There's not a player that didn't play well. To get that result with the quality they have you have to put in a good performance."

Martial fails to take his chance

Anthony Martial
Martial managed just one shot, which was blocked, and two crosses before he was substituted

Alexis Sanchez was a surprise absentee from United's starting XI, with Mourinho confirming before kick-off that the forward was injured.

That meant Anthony Martial, who has been linked with a move, was handed the chance to impress.

Mourinho was critical of Martial for his performance here in May, and another ineffective display will surely not have impressed his manager.

Martial lasted until the hour mark before he was substituted with neither he nor Mourinho appearing to acknowledge each other as he went down the tunnel.

Man of the match - Solly March

Solly March
Solly March was everywhere for Brighton - particularly in the first half - and provided a brilliant cross for Glenn Murray's opener

A first for Paul Pogba - the stats

  • Since taking charge of United at the start of the 2016-17 season, the only opponent Mourinho has lost against more often than Brighton (two) is his former club Chelsea (four).
  • Brighton have lost just one of their past eight home games in the Premier League (W5 D2 L1), with the two most recent both being wins against United (1-0 in 2017-18 and 3-1 in 2018-19).
  • United lost their first away game of a Premier League campaign for the first time since 2012-13, when they were beaten 1-0 by Everton.
  • Twenty three of Murray's 24 goals in the Premier League have been scored from inside the box, including 100% of those scored for Brighton in the competition (13/13).
  • Gross has scored eight goals in the Premier League, with all eight at home. Only two players have netted more goals exclusively at home in the competition's history - Georginio Wijnaldum (18) and Clive Wilson (nine).
  • In competitive games since the start of the 2018 World Cup, David de Gea has conceded 10 goals from the past 14 shots on target he has faced.
  • Lukaku has scored against 18 of the current 20 Premier League teams, with Cardiff and Wolves the only teams he is yet to find the net against.
  • Pogba ended on the losing side in a Premier League game he scored in for the first time - prior to today, United had won each of the previous 11 games he had netted in, which was a joint-record in the competition (with Ryan Babel for Liverpool).
  • This was only the 10th time in Premier League history that United conceded three first-half goals in a game, and the first time since October 2015 against Arsenal.

What next?

Brighton travel to Liverpool on Saturday, 25 August (17:30 BST) while United host Tottenham on Monday, 27 August (20:00 BST)

Line-ups

Brighton

Formation 4-4-1-1

  • 1Ryan
  • 22Montoya
  • 4Duffy
  • 5DunkSubstituted forBalogunat 20'minutes
  • 3Bong
  • 11Knockaert
  • 6Stephens
  • 24Pröpper
  • 20March
  • 13GroßSubstituted forKayalat 90'minutes
  • 17MurrayBooked at 67minsSubstituted forLocadiaat 90+3'minutes

Substitutes

  • 7Kayal
  • 8Bissouma
  • 9Locadia
  • 14Balogun
  • 16Jahanbakhsh
  • 27Button
  • 30Bernardo

Man Utd

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1De Gea
  • 18Young
  • 3Bailly
  • 2Lindelöf
  • 23Shaw
  • 17Fred
  • 15PereiraSubstituted forLingardat 45'minutes
  • 6Pogba
  • 8MataSubstituted forRashfordat 45'minutes
  • 9Lukaku
  • 11MartialBooked at 45minsSubstituted forFellainiat 60'minutes

Substitutes

  • 10Rashford
  • 12Smalling
  • 13Grant
  • 14Lingard
  • 21Herrera
  • 27Fellaini
  • 39McTominay
Referee:
Kevin Friend
Attendance:
30,592

Match Stats

Home TeamBrightonAway TeamMan Utd
Possession
Home33%
Away67%
Shots
Home6
Away9
Shots on Target
Home3
Away3
Corners
Home3
Away5
Fouls
Home16
Away13

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 3, Manchester United 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 3, Manchester United 2.

  3. Goal!

    Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion 3, Manchester United 2. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the high centre of the goal.

  4. Post update

    Penalty Manchester United. Marouane Fellaini draws a foul in the penalty area.

  5. Post update

    Penalty conceded by Shane Duffy (Brighton and Hove Albion) after a foul in the penalty area.

  6. Substitution

    Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Jürgen Locadia replaces Glenn Murray.

  7. Post update

    Fred (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Glenn Murray (Brighton and Hove Albion).

  9. Post update

    Foul by Paul Pogba (Manchester United).

  10. Post update

    Glenn Murray (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  11. Substitution

    Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Beram Kayal replaces Pascal Groß.

  12. Post update

    Ashley Young (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  13. Post update

    Foul by Glenn Murray (Brighton and Hove Albion).

  14. Post update

    Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Solly March (Brighton and Hove Albion).

  16. Post update

    Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by Ashley Young.

  17. Post update

    Foul by Paul Pogba (Manchester United).

  18. Post update

    Dale Stephens (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  19. Post update

    Luke Shaw (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Post update

    Foul by Glenn Murray (Brighton and Hove Albion).

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