Fabian Hurzeler: "I always talk about togetherness"
“Winners in the last minute are always emotional,” the Brighton boss tells TNT. “I was very emotional, of course but the truth is we also could lave lost this match because we didn’t control the game consistently.
“We lost sometimes the control of the game and that’s what I didn’t like, but in the end the most important [thing] for me was the attitude of the players. They really never give up and they always have the belief and the strength of belief in each other.
“I always talk about togetherness and for me the whole squad is important. The impact from the players who came into the game was amazing and brought us in the end the win.”
Erik ten Hag: "We conceded two soft goals"
“It is especially disappointing because over long parts of the game we had control,” the Manchester United boss tells TNT Sports. “We were controlling the game in possession and doing so well and we [conceded] two unnecessary goals, very avoidable.
“We conceded two soft goals when we should have acted better as a team. I saw many things in those moments so we have to talk, we have to be alive in such moments [and know] what to do to protect our goal.”
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Brighton 2-1 Manchester United
Match report: “João Pedro got the winner in the fifth minute of added time and, while United will lament a farcical second-half offside that prevented them taking the lead, Brighton had looked the likelier to score for all but about 10 minutes of the second half,” writes Jonathan Wilson from the Amex Stadium.
Brighton’s winner: Looking at replays, it’s fair to say that Erik ten Hag will be furious with his side’s abject defending. Following an extremely weak attempt at a tackle by Antony on Simon Adingra, there was a queue of unmarked Brighton players waiting to convert the substitute’s inch perfect cross to the far post.
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Joao Pedro: “I think he’s a very good person,” says Brighton’s match-winner upon being asked about Fabian Hurzeler’s impact on the club. “He always tries to push us to believe in ourselves, to keep it going. I think it was another big game for us, another three points and this is what he wants. To fight, to push, until the end.”
Joao Pedro: “First I’m very happy for the win,” the Brighton striker and man of the match tells TNT Sports reporter Jules Breach, who is a big Brighton fan. “This goal right at the end shows how much you want to win the game.
“First game at home, against a big team, so I cannot feel better than today. The team did well and now we need to rest because we have another big game next weekend.”
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Brighton's players celebrate
They’re ecstatic, their fans are ecstatic and their young manager is taking it all in his stride as he surveys the celebrations going on around him. In stark contrast, Erik ten Hag’s face looks like thunder.
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Brighton 2-1 Manchester United
Full time: Brighton make it two wins from two courtesy of goals from Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro either side of Amad Diallo’s consolation. It’s a terrific result for them and an all too predicable one for Manchester United, who were somewhat unlucky not to go 2-1 up before Brighton scored their late, late winner.
90+7 min: What looks like Brighton’s winner came from the third or fourth phase of play after Manchester United had failed to clear a corner. Adingra’s dinked cross to the far post was sublime, but Joao Pedro had all the time in the world to pick his spot, duck and steer his waist-high header past Onana. It’s all over and Brighton have won.
GOAL! Brighton 2-1 Man Utd (Pedro 90+5)
Brighton lead! Joao Pedro steals in by the back post to get on the end of an Adingra dink from the left side of the penalty area and steer a header past Andre Onana. His run went untracked and he was completely unmarked as he scored from five or six yards out.
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90+4 min: Oof! Brighton substitute Julio Enciso sents a surface-to-air missile from distance whistling past the angle of crossbar and upright. That wasn’t too far away.
90+3 min: United defend a Brighton free-kick, fail to clear the ball propperly and are forced to block a shot from Ayari on the edge of the penaly area.
90+1 min: We’re into seven minutes of added time. Veltman tries to pick out Adingra with a cross from the right but it’s too high for the substitute. He gets his head to the ball but can’t steer it on target.
88 min: Van Hecke is booked for a foul on Lisandro Martinez. Brighton triple-substitution: Yasin Ayari, Simon Adingra and Georginaio Rutter on for Gilmour, Minteh and Mitoma. Man Utd substitution: Antony on for Dalot.
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86 min: United attack but Garnacho overhits a crossfield pass to Amad as he tries to switch the play from left to right. The ball sails into the stand and a frustrated Garnacho waves apologetically towards his teammate.
85 min: Amad’s outswinger towards Zirkzee is headed clear by Lewis Dunk.
84 min: A draw seems a pretty fair result given the performances of both teams but there’s still plenty of time for one of them to nick all three points. United win themselves a corner.
81 min: Looking back at the Man Utd disallowed goal – well, what can you do only laugh? Zirkzee had slid in to try to convert Fernandes’s cross, failed to make contact and was getting back to his feet right on the goalline as Garnacho’s far post tap-in hit his decidedly offside knee and went in. I don’t think there was anything he could have done to avoid the ball hitting him.
78 min: Brighton substitution: Julio Enciso on for Danny Welbeck. Man Utd double-substitution: Matthijs De Ligt and Scott McTominay on for Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes.
76 min: Brighton free-kick in a great position and Amad Diallo gets booked for gifting it to them. Billy Gilmour, who has never scored a goal in 110 senior appearances, shoots straight into the wall.
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75 min: During all that excitement, Brighton made a substitution. Carlos Baleba comes on for James Milner, who has been outstanding.
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VAR! United's "goal" is ruled out for offside
It’s still all square: Brighton dodge a massive bullet after Garnacho’s far post tap-in is correctly seen to have touched the overzealous Joshua Zirkzee’s knee just before it crossed the line. If the Dutch substitute had got out of the way of the ball the goal would have stood. It’s desperately unlucky for him and his team. But also quite funny.
GOAL! Brighton 1-2 Man Utd (Garnacho 70)
United lead! Or do they? It might be ruled out for offside. Garnacho’s tap-in at the far post from a Fernandes cross hits the offside Zirkzee’s knee just before it crosses the line.
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68 min: Having been on the ropes before scoring their equaliser, Manchester United are now in the ascendency. While Marcus Rashford wan’t playing particularly badly, Alejandro Garnacho has definitely given the some added “oomf!” on the left-hand side of the pitch.
66 min: Garnacho tees up Casemiro, who shoots over the bar from a couple of yards outside the Brighton penalty area.
64 min: Dalot tries to play Rashford in behind Van Hecke but the defender is strong enough to prevent the winger getting to the ball. It’s Rashford’s last involvement in the game and he goes off to be replaced by Garnacho.
62 min: Amad Diallo’s goal survives a check for offside and it was the unfortunate Van Hecke who played Diallo on in the build-up to the goal too.
GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Man Utd (Diallo 60)
United equalise: This may well go down as an own goal but Diallo drives in from the right flank and tries to shoot for the far corner. The ball takes a wicked deflection past Jason Steele off Van Hecke, who slides in to block on the edge of the six-yard box. On the ropes, eh?
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59 min: Minteh’s dinked delivery from the free-kick is splendid and Welbeck connects with the ball to head against the cross-bar. United are a goal behind and on the ropes.
57 min: Dunk plays a long ball from deep towards Mitoma in the inside-left channel. He’s forced backwards but the ball is played forward again towards Milner in a similar position. Brighton win a free-kick to the left of the United penalty area, near the touchline, for a Diallo foul on the 38-year-old veteran.
55 min: Unmarked in the United penalty area, Danny Welbeck leaps to connect with a good cross from Minteh but heads straight at Andre Onana.
54 min: A Joel Veltman headed clearance drops kindly for Zirkzee, who plays it inside to Fernandes near the edge of the Brighton penalty area. He runs into traffic and is unable to get a shot off.
52 min: Brighton attack and Pedro and Milner combine brilliantly. The former plays the latter in behind and he stretches to flick the ball past Onana. His effort isn’t powerful enough and Dalot hacks the ball clear before it crosses the goalline.
51 min: The rain is torrential and it’s worth noting that the roofs of the stands at the Amex Stadium are even more leaky than their equivalents at Old Trafford. Some of the fans are getting absdolutely soaked. Brighton win a corenr but nothing comes of it.
50 min: Welbeck is penalised for a foul on Mazraoui and Manchester United lump the ball forward. It bounces all the way through to Jason Steele standing at the edge of his penalty area.
47 min: Unless he is injured, Mason Mount is probably entitled to feel aggrieved to have been hooked at half-time but I suppose somebody had to make way for Zirkzee.
Alejandro Garnacho is currently warming up for United, which means either Marcus Rashford or Amad Diallo might not be long for this game either.
46 min: James Milner shoots over the bar from distance after excellent work by Joao Pedro, who had cut in from the left touchline.
Second half: Brighton 1-0 Man Utd
46 min: Play resumes with Manchester United on the ball. They’ve made a change, with Joshua Zirkzee coming on for Mason Mount.
Fun fact: Manchester United have not won their opening two games of a Premier League season since 2017-18, when Jose Mourinho was in charge of the club.
Brighton 1-0 Manchester United
Half-time: The players walk off for the break with Brighton leading courtesy of Danny Welbeck’s 100th career goal. United squandered two good chances through Diallo and Casemiro, while Marcus Rashford though he’d equalised within a minute of Brighton’s opener only to have his apparent fluke ruled out for offside.
45+1 min: It’s half-time and Brighton lead.
44 min: Kobee Mainoo coughs up cheap possession as Manchester United try to play the ball out from the back and Brighton launch a counter-attack. Jack Hinshelwood fails to spot Welbeck in a good position and United get away with their sloppiness.
42 min: Yankuba Minteh runs on to a crossfield pass from Joao Pedro towards the byline but runs into traffic and is immediately dispossessed.
40 min: Marcus Rashford tries to play Fernandes in behind with an excellent low pass from deep but Jean Paul van Hecke is wise to his caper and is quick enough to prevent the Portuguese from getting to the ball.
36 min: Brighton’s opener: Joao Pedro sent a tantalising cross into the Manchester United box from the right, which Harry Maguire should have cleared but allowed to run all the way through to Kaoru Mitoma. He looked up, squared the ball and a completely unmarked Welbeck was able to slide it home from close range. It was a very soft goal for United to concede.
34 min: United attack, the ball comes in from the right and Jason Steele saves brilliantly from a Rashford diving header, only for the ball to ricochet past him off the unwitting Manchester United forward’s heel. Rashford gets to his feet to wheel away in celebration but the flag goes up for offside. Oof!
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GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Man Utd (Welbeck 31)
Brighton lead! Danny Welbeck slides home the 100th goal of his club career from four yards out.
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30 min: A very promising United counter-attack breaks down when Amad Diallo misplaces his pass to Marcus Rashford. The visitors had a three-on-two there but messed it up.
28 min: Casemiro tries to play Rashford in behind the Brighton defence with a long ball from deep. It’s not quite high enough and Jean Paul van Hecke is able to intercept with a crucial header.
27 min: Manchester United corner. Nothing comes of it but Brighton fail to clear their lines. The ball breaks to Amad Diallo, who tries his luck from distance. His shot sails over the bar.
25 min: That Veltman handball was practically identical to the one for which Ipswich Town’s Wes Burns also avoided a yellow card against Liverpool last weekend. Burns, you may recall, was already on a booking at the time of his indiscretion and should have been sent off.
22 min: Amad Diallo takes on Hinshelwood, cuts inside and lays the ball off to Lisandro Martinez. Off balance on the ground, Joel Veltman deliberately handles the ball to prevent Bruno Fernandes taking control of it but avoids a booking.
From the free-kick, Fernandes swings the ball into the mixer and Casemiro heads high and wide. He was unmarked and should have hit the target.
20 min: There’s something of a lull as both teams take turns pinging the ball around the middle third of the pitch. This match has yet to live up to its rich promise but there’s plenty of time to go.
16 min: Mainoo pounces on a poor Billy Gilmour pass and ferrets his way into the Brighton penalty area and towards the home side’s goal. Surrounded by defenders and with no options open to him, he runs out of road and the ball rolls harmlessly into the hands of Jason Steele.
14 min: Milner and Joel Veltman combine down the right flank and get the ball to Yankuba Minteh, who is immediately dispossessed. Manchester United break upfield but a promising attack breaks down when Kauro Mitoma is fouled by – I think – Mason Mount.
13 min: One thing that is totally beyond dispute is that Diallo should have hit the target – that was big let-off for Brighton.
11 min: Amad Diallo volleys wide from 12 yards after connecting with a brilliant, inch-perfect cross from Diogo Dalot. Should Diallo have headed it instead? TNT Sports analyst Ally McCoist certainly thinks so, although he does concede the ball may have been a mite too low.
10 min: Milner beats Kobee Mainoo to the ball and tees up Joao Pedro, who pulls a low shot from distance well wide of the right post.
8 min: It’s been quite a cautious opening from both sides, with the wet conditions perhaps playing their part. Neither team has mustered anything in the way of a shot on goal thus far.
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7 min: A panicked Lewis Dunk puts the ball out for a cheap corner upon being swarmed by two United players after receiving something of a hospital pass from Jason Steele inside his own penalty area. Nothing comes of the set-piece.
5 min: Bruno Fernandes runs on to a ball played over the top from deep but it’s overhit. The ball bounces out of play before the man playing furthest forward for Manchester United can reach it.
4 min: James Milner plays a weighted ball down the inside-left for Yankuba Minteh to chase. The young winger gets a cross in with the outside of his left foot under pressure from Martinez but Andre Onana gathers with a minimum of fuss on the edge of his six-yard box.
3 min: Jason Steele pings the ball out to Brighton left-back Jack Hinshelwood near the touchline. The 19-year-old chests it down and then loses it.
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2 min: United play out from the back, with Joao Pedro leading the Brighton press.
Brighton v Manchester United is go ...
1 min: Manchester United get the ball rolling as the rain continues to pour down at the Amex Stadium. It’s rolled back towards Andre Onana and before too long, Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele gets his first touch of the ball at his feet.
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Not long now: On a damp and dirty day on the south coast, the teams march out on to the Amex Stadium pitch led by referee Craig Pawson and his team of match officials. Kick-off is just a couple of minutes away …
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Brighton: In an interview with TNT Sports, Fabian Hurzeler has just revealed that Mats Wieffer is out with a minor soft tissue injury. He says he probably could have risked him but is happy to let the Dutch midfielder sit this one out and select Billy Gilmour instead.
Manchester United: Erik ten Hag believes Alejandro Garnacho has a “long way” to go to become world class but is adamant the Manchester United forward has the “X-factor” to achieve this status.
Analysis: Manchester United’s trip to Brighton presents a dangerous obstacle for a manager trying to mould his team together after an influx of players, writes Jamie Jackson.
Danny Welbeck: The Brighton striker starts up front today and has scored five goals against his former club, more than any other United old boy.
Today’s match officials
Referee: Craig Pawson
Referee’s assistants: Marc Perry and Nick Hopton
Fourth official: Bobby Madley
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Fabian Hurzeler: 'I can also learn'
Interview: Aged 31, the Brighton manager is not shy about learning from his squad and is also building links with his new club’s fans. Ed Aarons reports.
Those teams: Despite speculation that he could be on the move to Italy, Billy Gilmour is given a vote of confidence by Fabian Hurzeler and comes into the Brighton starting line-up in place of Mats Wieffer. New signing Georginio Rutter is on the bench.
Erik ten Hag fields an unchanged side to the one that lined up against Fulham and once again there is no place for Jadon Sancho in the United match day squad.
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Brighton v Manchester United line-ups
Brighton: Steele, Dunk, Milner, Pedro, Gilmour, Minteh, Welbeck, Mitoma, Van Hecke, Veltman, Hinshelwood.
Subs: Rushworth, Lamptey, Igor, Webster, Enciso, Rutter, Adingra, Ayari.
Manchester United: Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Mount, Rashford; Fernandes.
Subs: Bayindir, De Ligt, Evans, Collyer, Eriksen, McTominay, Antony, Garnacho, Zirkzee.
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The boss names an unchanged team — let's go United! 👏❤️#MUFC || #BHAMUN
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 24, 2024
TEAM NEWS! 🚨 Here's our starting XI for today's #PL match against @ManUtd. 👀📝 pic.twitter.com/gXk7OgldXq
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 24, 2024
Early team news
Brighton completed the signing of Georginio Rutter during the week and with two appearances for Leeds under his belt already this season, there is no reason why the French forward shouldn’t go straight into Brighton’s matchday squad.
Quite literally forced off the pitch with a head injury during last weekend’s match against Everton, Yankuba Minteh has shown no signs of suffering from a concussion and been passed fit to play, but midfielder Solly March and goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen remain sidelined.
Evan Ferguson, Pervis Estupinan, Julio Espinola and Tariq Lamptey are all back in training after recovering from injury but are extremely unlikely to feature.
Never shy in blaming his team’s shortcomings on injuries, Erik ten Hag will have plenty of excuses to hand should United get beaten today.
Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Rasmus Hojlund are all unavailable through injury, while Harry Maguire is only rated a fifty-fifty shot to be fit enough for today’s match. Joshua Zirkzee could make his first start for United after coming off the bench to score their late winner against Fulham last weekend.
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Premier League: Brighton v Manchester United
The second weekend of the Premier League season kicks off with an intriguing game between Brighton and Manchester United that’s extremely difficult to call.
Manchester United got their campaign under way with a laboured win over Fulham at Old Trafford, while Brighton were far more impressive in their emphatic win over Everton at Goodison Park the following day.
Fabian Wurzeler’s side enjoy home advantage this afternoon at the Amex Stadium, where the Premier League’s youngest ever manager will be hoping to make it two wins from two.
He will be no stranger to the methods of his opposite number, as he used to play under Erik ten Hag when the Manchester United manager was in charge of Bayern Munich reserves. Kick-off is at the Amex Stadium but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
