Manchester United were left stunned on Friday night after falling to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brighton. The Amex stadium lit up in the 57th minute when Pascal Gross headed home from close range despite Marcos Rojo’s attempt to clear the ball off the line.
Player ratings:
David De Gea (7) – The Spaniard made to wonderful saves in the first half and it’s hard to blame him for the goal.
Matteo Darmian (4) – The right-back was all over the place in what could potentially be his final match for United. Failed to block the cross for the goal and didn’t offer anything in attack.
Chris Smalling (7) – Smalling was United’s best player. Held his own against Glenn Murray all night and did an excellent job when bringing the ball out from the back.
Marcos Rojo (6) – Solid all night like his counterpart Chris Smalling and was very unlucky not to clear Gross’ goal off the line. Looked impressively sharp after so long out.
Ashley Young (5) – Tried to get forward as much as possible and saw plenty of the ball, but failed to create anything.
Horror show in midfield
Marouane Fellani (4) – From hero to zero. Looked as if he didn't really know what he was doing and Mourinho was right to substitute him early. Didn’t contribute anything since having an early goal ruled out for offside.
Nemanja Matic (5) – Failed to keep track of the Brighton runs in midfield, however, there is only so much he can do by himself.
Paul Pogba (5) – Another quiet night for the Frenchman. Every time he got on the ball fans were hopeful that he might create something. He didn’t, not even once.
Juan Mata (5) – Probably the most creative player Manchester United have. He found little pockets of space, but didn’t use them to the best of his ability.
Anthony Martial (4) – Didn’t track back or do his defensive duties whatsoever. Kept running every time United went forward, but where was he running to?
Marcus Rashford (5) – Made a few decent runs but his teammates failed to find him. Should have squared the ball to Martial.
Not so super subs
Substitutions:
Luke Shaw (4) – Came on for Darmian in the 68th minute and didn’t really make an impact. Another United player who suffered from poor delivery.
Jesse Lingard (6) – The English prospect made a difference when he came on. United looked much more dynamic and more likely to score, however, the rest of the team let him down with the final ball.
Scott McTominay (5) – Tried his best to get involved when coming on with fifteen minutes to go, but trying was all he could really do with no real options to pick out.