Manchester United capitalised on recent momentum by beating Brighton at Old Trafford as Matheus Cunha scored his first club goal in a frantic and somewhat controversial 4-2 win.
Ruben Amorim’s side seem to be one of contrasting fortunes as a torrid start to this season has made way for a particularly productive recent period, with three wins on the spin propelling them, temporarily at least, into the top four.
Man Utd had lost six of their last seven league games against Brighton and rode their luck at times in the first half, needing some wasteful finishing from Danny Welbeck to pave the way for two goals in 10 minutes, scored by Cunha and Casemiro. The opener was sumptuous, the second via a harsh deflection much more fortunate.
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Matheus Cunha scores his first Man Utd goal after bending the ball into the far post.
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Casemiro’s strike from the edge of the box takes a huge deflection off Yasin Ayari.
Bruno Fernandes should have made it three before Bryan Mbeumo did, driving a strike through Lewis Dunk’s legs, despite an obvious foul by Luke Shaw on Georginio Rutter in the phase before. And that was not the only decision under scrutiny on the night.
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Replays showed a tug on Georginio Rutter’s shirt from Luke Shaw but VAR deems it not enough to overturn Bryan Mbeumo’s goal.
Neither referee Anthony Taylor nor VAR awarded Amad a penalty when he was upended by Maxim De Cuyper in the first half, because the defender supposedly “played the ball”, while Patrick Dorgu only received a yellow for a last-ditch foul on Yankuba Minteh – albeit the forward had probably lost control of possession when the whistle finally went.
The drama was non-stop. Welbeck latterly made his presence felt when driving a belting free-kick beyond Senne Lammens to rid him of a second consecutive clean sheet, before Charalampos Kostoulas arrived from the bench to force what looked to be a needlessly tense end.
Really, it was anything but. Mbeumo had the final say in the 96th minute with an emphatic finish to round off a frenzied finale, with Gary Neville praising Amorim for his “best and most important week in the job”.
Amorim’s best week in the job
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville at Old Trafford:
“The narrative coming into this game was that Manchester United couldn’t take a step back after what happened at Anfield last week and the win today was absolutely crucial.
“I think it has been Ruben Amorim’s best and most important week in the job. It gives him a bit of time.
“I am not saying he’s off the hook but Manchester United are up there towards the top of the league and it certainly takes a lot of pressure off him.”
