Manchester United end 3-game winless run against Brighton

Manchester United have been very unlucky in recent weeks after going three games without a win, despite creating several scoring chances.

The dropping of points was beginning to derail the Red Devils’ hopes of finishing in the top four. However, they finally turned up against Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday.

Ralf Rangnick’s side endured a poor first half against the Seagulls, but were much better in the second as they coasted to a deserved 2-0 victory.

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his six-game scoring drought by opening the scoring after the break. Bruno Fernandes then sealed the win at the death following a blistering counter-attack.

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Red Devils back to winning ways

The Premier League’s top-four race is wide open, so it was important that Manchester United got back to winning ways after their recent slump.

The Red Devils, though, did not find it easy against a well-motivated Brighton side that had lost just two of their last ten games in all competitions coming into the match.

Ronaldo’s goal helped calm some nerves, but the Seagulls simply refused to down their tools even after Lewis Dunk was sent off for bringing down Anthony Elanga. That the final stats had both teams recording 50% of the possession highlights just how difficult the game was for Rangnick’s side, even with a numerical advantage.

However, the hosts managed to get the job by winning, which is the most important thing at this stage of the season.

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Manchester United boost top-four hopes

Manchester United’s win over Brighton has taken them back into the Champions League places, albeit temporarily.

This is because Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal have two and three outstanding matches, respectively. Both teams will overtake the Red Devils if they win those games in hand.

The bottom line, though, is that the Red Devils have given their top-four hopes a massive boost, especially when you consider the fact that their rivals could also drop points.

Rangnick, though, rued his team’s failure to close the game off earlier.

“It felt better than the 35-40 minutes before that! Obviously, we should have killed the game off again, much earlier after the red card,” Rangnick said after the game, as quoted by Manutd.com.

“We had five, six unbelievable chances to score, but, again, we didn’t and as long as it’s 1-0, and with the experience of the last three games – it’s normal that there is then a little bit of insecurity in the team. We were not quite lethal enough in those moments to kill the game off, and it is always dangerous against 10 men.

Rangick added:

“You can concede a goal. With Bruno’s goal, it was clear with only one minute to go that the game was over, but it took very long before we put the game to bed.”

The top-four race is likely to go down to the wire, and only the most consistent teams would secure a Champions League spot. For Manchester United, though, it is now a matter of whether they can sustain their performance against Brighton in subsequent weeks.