Brighton and Hove Albion have cemented their spot in the top nine of the Premier League after their emphatic win over Manchester United last weekend. The Red Devils were on the receiving end of a thrashing from the Graham Potter-led Brighton side at the Amex Stadium on Saturday. Brighton were able to record their biggest Premier League ever at the expense of Manchester United thanks to the convincing 4-0 win.
Manchester United came into the Brighton game on the back of a two-match unbeaten run against the West London duo of Chelsea and Brentford at home. Cristiano Ronaldo scored to cancel out the second half opener from Marcos Alonso as Manchester United and Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw. Portuguese international Ronaldo was also on the scoresheet as Manchester United thrashed Brentford 3-0 at home. Apart from Ronaldo, fellow Portuguese Bruno Fernandes and Spanish defender Raphael Varane also scored for Manchester United. It was the first goal in a Manchester United shirt for Varane.
Varane was at the heart of the Manchester United defence alongside Sweden international Victor Lindelof for the Brighton game, but they could not stop the Seagulls from scoring four goals. Manchester United had two Sweden international in the starting XI for the Brighton game including the aforementioned Lindelof. Apart from the former Benfica player, young Sweden attacker Anthony Elanga also started the game before he was substituted at the start of the second half with Brazil international Fred coming on in his place.
Manchester United went behind after 15 minutes of the Brighton game with the goal from Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo. It was his first goal for the Seagulls and it gave them a slender advantage into the half-time interval. Brighton then ran riot at the start of the second half with three goals from Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard. Cucurella scored his first goal for the Seagulls since his transfer to the club last summer.