Manchester United have only lost twice in the Premier League at Old Trafford in the last 13 months, both against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The contrasting ways of winning show that Brighton are developing into a force to be reckoned with under manager Roberto De Zerbi.
Graham Potter’s side spoiled Erik ten Hag’s first match in charge of United on the opening day of last season with a 2-1 win.
After picking up one point from their previous nine league matches, they held off a late United attack. It was a historic breakthrough, but Saturday’s 3-1 win was more convincing and unsurprising.
Former Ajax defender Joel Veltmann says: It started years ago, when Dunkey (captain Lewis Dunk) was here, but compared to last season, we deserved to win too.
Gross scores Brighton’s second goal (Photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
“We were the better team the whole game. We were probably a little sloppy at the beginning and we created chances, but for 85 minutes we were the better team.”
Goalkeeper Jason Steele said of Brighton’s continued development: Tolerance, diligence, culture and spirit. And he’s a very good manager. ”
Recruiting smart players
Last season, when Brighton won at Old Trafford in early August, there was still time in the transfer window for clubs to strengthen. Since that game, United have spent £318.5m on players, dwarfing the £139m Brighton spent in the same period.
The difference becomes even larger when sales are taken into account. In this summer window, United’s net spend was £130m, and they recouped just £47.5m from sales.
Brighton send Moises Caicedo to Chelsea (£115m) and Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool, starting under Potter in the win at Old Trafford 13 months ago They have sold four players and made £222 million in their last two games. (£55m), Leandro Trossard to Arsenal (£27m) and Roberto Sanchez to Chelsea (£25m).
Net spending over this summer window, when they signed seven new players, was -£103m.
Brighton sold Caicedo to Chelsea (Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Steele said: “We lost two of our best players in the summer (Caicedo and Mac Allister)?” Probably so. Will it open up avenues and opportunities for someone else? absolutely.
“No matter who joins the team or the group, you’re joining a culture that has been formed over a long period of time, the best culture I’ve ever experienced in my life.
“And as a club, we’ve been recruiting really smartly. We’ve brought in James Milner (37, free transfer from Liverpool), then Carlos Baleva (19, £26m from Lille) and Mahmoud. Acquired Dahoud (27 years old, free transfer from Borussia Dortmund).
Dahoud was one of five players in De Zerbi’s starting XI at Old Trafford who cost nothing.
De Zerbi factor
Brighton have a special head coach.
Monday marks De Zerbi’s first anniversary as manager, and over the past 12 months the Italian has improved his squad individually and this victory at Old Trafford was not surprising. .
The four-game league win against United included all the stylistic values instilled by De Zerbi: precise construction from the back, one-on-one defending, and attacking with fluency and power.
His team had more possession than United (57% vs. 43%) and was also more accurate in passing (91% vs. 85%).
De Zerbi said: “We are used to working in our own style. At Old Trafford we always defend man-to-man, so we played with courage. We played the ball in all situations, with the keeper, central defenders and full-backs. held.
“We played with two midfielders. (Mahmoud) Dahoud is a quality player but not strong, Pascal Gross has quality, and this is how we are building the season.”
Brighton felt they could have scored more goals (Photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
As a result, Brighton maintained an average of three points per game in their opening five league games and won four times.
Steele says: “I don’t know what the limits are, I don’t know how long the journey will last, I don’t really care.
“I’m just staying in the present and working on each day in training and each match as a group. That’s all we do. Let’s talk about our culture.
“His intensity level… I don’t want to say too much about him because we’re learning with him and we need him here.”
Increased squad depth
The quality of the Old Trafford bench showed the depth needed to cope with play in the Europa League.
De Zerbi made six changes to the team that beat Newcastle 3-1 at home in the last game before the international break, thanks to a hat-trick from Evan Ferguson.
Ferguson, 18, was one of the substitutes after being ruled out of the Republic of Ireland squad due to a minor knee injury. He wasn’t needed until the 85th minute.
De Zerbi said after the match that it was especially important to have strong attacking options in reserve, as it would be difficult to sustain Brighton’s relentless pressing for 90 minutes.
He refreshed his front line in the 64th minute by introducing Ansu Fati, who was making his debut on loan from Barcelona, and third scorer Joao Pedro, replacing Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana.
De Zerbi made two more changes in the 77th minute, replacing Dahoud with Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour and replacing Tariq Lamptey, who was making his first start since March due to a knee problem, with Milner. I put it in.
“The players that have come out, it’s ridiculous how good they are. If we can bring them in, we’ve got a proper, really good team,” Veltman said.
Lamptey assisted Gross and Brazilian Joao Pedro to score for the second time in five games since joining from Watford for a club record £30 million.
Lamptey played at left-back in the absence of Pervis Estupinan, who played the entirety of Ecuador’s two South American World Cup qualifying matches during the international break.
Solly March was absent due to a minor injury.
De Zerbi said: “You can change two players in any position on the pitch. Without Estupinan, without Soli, nothing would have changed.”
Resilience
De Zerbi’s team is adventurous and tries to outdo their opponents, but they also have backbone. “The sense of unity is crazy,” Steele said.
United had the upper hand in the early stages, but Brighton started to make good use of their diamond formation in midfield and exploit space on the flanks.
Steele says: “We attacked together and played good defense. And plays like that don’t get too much emphasis. The way we continued to attack for 20 minutes and then controlled the game, we’re the right team.”
Veltman also highlighted the hard work and team ethic that underpins De Zerbi’s adventurous philosophy.
“We have good quality, but we work as a team and react as a team when we lose the ball,” said the Dutchman.
raise the hurdle
De Zerbi has created an environment of high expectations. He felt the team should have scored more goals in the second half, including Fati’s late chance. The shot from 8 yards was blocked by Andre Onana.
“We kept the ball well in the second half, but we could have attacked with more energy,” De Zerbi said.
There was also disappointment in the dressing room afterward when substitute Hannibal Mabry conceded a goal from a 20-yard shot.
Veltman says the following about his defensive style: We haven’t achieved a clean sheet yet. We can and want to do better. ”
(Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
