Having endured one of the highest highs football has to offer last week by winning at Anfield, United almost experienced the flip side of the coin when old boy Danny Welbeck was afforded too much time in the area but could only fire at Senne Lammens in the early stages.
Ruben Amorim’s side were left with a burning sense of injustice not long after when Amad Diallo went down under a challenge from Maxim De Cuyper inside the area, but both Anthony Taylor and VAR were unmoved.
The hosts were able to channel that aggrieved feeling into an opening goal midway through the first half, as big-money summer recruit Matheus Cunha stepped forward from the edge of the area to stroke home his first goal for United.
There was a sense of beauty about United’s first goal, and although their second certainly wasn’t one for the football purist, it served to settle some nerves inside Old Trafford. Jan Paul van Hecke’s loose pass in his own half was pounced upon by Luke Shaw, whose challenge found its way to Casemiro, and his 25-yard strike deflected off Yasin Ayari and rolled past a stranded Bart Verbruggen.
The Dutch stopper kept his side in the game within five minutes of the restart, as he reacted quickest to get a hand up and deny Bruno Fernandes from point-blank range.
That only proved to be a temporary reprieve for the Seagulls, who would soon see the game placed beyond their reach.
United were purring at times in the second half, and although there was an element of controversy to their third goal as Brighton felt there was a foul in the build-up, Bryan Mbeumo didn’t mind as he reversed home United’s third from the edge of the area.
Fabian Hurzeler was seething when last-man Patrick Dorgu brought down Yankuba Minteh, and Anthony Taylor only deemed the challenge worthy of a yellow card.
He’ll feel justice was done from the resulting free-kick, though, as former Red Welbeck stepped forward and curled an effort into the top corner.
Brighton played their best football of the game in the closing stages, but they’d seemingly left themselves with too much work to do to have any chance of stretching their unbeaten league run at Old Trafford to four matches.
Charalampos Kostoulas popped up in stoppage time to head home James Milner’s corner to set up a grandstand finish, but Hurzeler’s men were unable to find an elusive equaliser.
United wrapped up a third league win in a row for the first time under Amorim in style when Mbeumo added a fourth in the dying moments, securing three points which, perhaps only temporarily, moved them into the top four.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Casemiro (Manchester United)
Key stats
- Man Utd have never lost a Premier League game at Old Trafford when leading at half time (P326 W301 D25)
- In Matheus Cunha and Casemiro, two Brazilians have scored in the same Premier League match for Manchester United for the first time
- Manchester United have won their last three games in the Premier League. Their last joint-longest winning streak was from 15 May 2024 to 16 August 2024