De Zerbi says Brighton are not going to Man United as tourists
Roberto De Zerbi has quite the ways with words, doesn’t he? Ahead of Brighton making the trip to Manchester United, the Albion boss was asked if he was looking forward to his first Old Trafford visit as a manager.
“It will be an honour for me to coach in this stadium but I don’t go there as a tourist. We want to play in the right way and to win,” De Zerbi said in response.
“Manchester United is still a great team in Europe. There will be a great atmosphere but our DNA is to try and play well, keeping the ball and trying to win. For sure it’s a tough game but we have the quality to win and play a good game.”
Such has been the impact of De Zerbi as he approaches his one year anniversary in the job that he is right. Brighton have proven they can go and compete against the biggest clubs in the country whose teams cost many hundreds of millions of pounds to put together.
Especially when that team is Manchester United. The Albion have a better record against the Red Devils than when facing any of the other European Super League Elite Six, which is heaven to those of us Brighton fans who went to school in the 1990s surrounded by United followers.
Five times the Seagulls have taken three points from United, necessitating their supporters to whip out the green and gold scarves and unfurl the Glazers Out banners which only appear whenever United lose.
Included amongst those wins was a Premier League double last season. Alexis Mac Allister provided one of the greatest moments of the Amex Era, his 99th minute penalty in a 1-0 win being greeted with a roar so loud you could hear it a mile away from the stadium.
10 months later and Brighton had spoiled the party of Erik ten Hag’s first game in charge of United. Pascal Gross hit a double as the Albion won 2-1 at Old Trafford for their first ever win at the Theatre of Trees.
Five victories only tell half the tale though when it comes to Brighton against Manchester United. Because the Seagulls should have several other positive results from their clashes from the Red Devils, only for Big Six bias in match officials to come rushing to the surface.
The farce that was United being awarded a penalty after the final whistle had blown at the Amex in September 2020 will probably live rent free in the heads of Albion supporters forevermore.
That same lockdown season and Brighton were denied a clear penalty at Old Trafford when Danny Welbeck was pulled back in the box stretching to convert a Neal Maupay cross.
Had it been awarded and successfully converted – no guarantees of course given that two months earlier Brighton missed two spot kicks in an hour at West Brom – the Albion would have led 2-0 and been cruising to victory. Instead, two late United goals gave the hosts a 2-1 win.
A controversial red card for Lewis Dunk early in the second half sunk the Seagulls’ hopes at Old Trafford in February 2022.
United players surrounded referee Peter Bankes demanding Dunk be dismissed in such a hostile manner that the Red Devils were fined £20,000 for failing to control their players.
Such a meagre monetary fine for one of the richest clubs in the world was obviously adequate consolation for Brighton, who were well in the game until Dunk departed and then had to play Burnley without their captain at the Amex.
Yes, THAT Burnley game when the Clarets ran riot to win 3-0. Should we remind you they were rock bottom of the table at the time having won just once all season? Okay, maybe not.
No discussion of Brighton against Manchester United can be had without revisiting what happened at Wembley in April either.
The Albion outplayed United for large parts of the FA Cup semi final between the teams, only for Solly March to miss a crucial penalty in the shootout.
Wembley Way that evening was a grim place to be. “You’ve seen United, now fuck off home” was sung by not-particularly gracious opposition fans. Arrogant and self entitled. It is no wonder the rest of English football does not like United.
The irony of that chant of course being that Brighton were the team every neutral wanted to watch at Wembley. And that remains the case four games into the new season; the Albion are exciting; United are dull and repulsive.
They lurch from one disciplinary problem to the next. And when it isn’t disciple, it is something far worse… like Mason Greenwood and Antony being accused of assaulting women, whilst the United hierarchy ponder how they can keep both. Grim.
De Zerbi remained coy on whether Evan Ferguson will have recovered from injury to play at Old Trafford. Should Ferguson make it, then all eyes will be on him with United already being firmly linked with a bid next summer.
Despite the vast riches United can offer, Ferguson (and anyone else for that matter) should ask themselves would they really be better off going to Old Trafford?
A club in decline with no coherent plan playing at a crumbling stadium owned by a hated family who want to sell but only if they can line their pockets with as much money as possible.
United no longer capture the imagination as they once did. They are not the force of old. It is why De Zerbi and Brighton head to Old Trafford not as tourists, but believing they can win.
