D'Mani Mellor and Zidane Iqbal returned to the pitch just before the second half with their arms wrapped around each other.
It was little surprise they were in such high spirits and smiling. United's U23s visited Brighton in the Premier League 2 on Friday afternoon and they made the perfect start to the game when Mellor gave the Reds the lead just over the 10-minute mark.
Charlie Wellens played a speculative ball forward into Brighton's box and Mellor reacted first to find the back of the net.
Mellor doubled his tally shortly after, with Brighton committing some calamitous defending after United's pressing of the ball. The youngster was recalled from his loan spell at Salford earlier this week and it was the perfect return to U23 action.
The 21-year-old was sidelined with injury between September and January during his loan spell at Salford, which meant his temporary stint with the League Two Class of '92-owned club did not work out how anyone would have hoped.
Isak Hansen-Aaroen, 17, almost made it three for United just before half-time. The creative midfielder's effort was curled just past the post after a brilliant sweeping move from United, which involved Mellor, Iqbal and Charlie Savage.
United successfully thwarted Brighton again in the second half, in which Shola Shoretire was replaced by Martin Svidersky. Shoretire went down injured after seemingly clashing heads following a sliding challenge - thankfully the injury didn't look too serious.
That was until Brighton's Marc Leonard scored with 10 minutes to go with an expertly placed shot past Ondrej Mastny.
However, that goal proved just a consolation as United successfully weathered the hosts' pressure - Mastny deserved credit for that - in the closing stages of the match. The Reds' U23s will play West Ham next in the Premier League 2 on Friday, February 4.
