Man United 1-3 Brighton: Kaiser Gross of Manchester tops ratings
It was a familiar story at Old Trafford with a very familiar name at the top of the Man United 1-3 Brighton player ratings – Kaiser Pascal Gross of Manchester.
The Albion seem to have developed something of a hold over United with this being their fourth consecutive Premier League win against the Red Devils.
Gross has been central to much of that success. He scored the second here, moving onto seven career goals past United to rack up a rating above nine.
Tariq Lamptey was not far behind, royally vindicating Roberto De Zerbi’s decision to start him at left back in place of the rested Pervis Estupinan.
Gross and Lamptey might have been the stars, but there were plenty of other majestic individual performances from an XI which cost under £16 million to put together.
This made a total a mockery of Erik ten Hag bemoaning money afterwards as an excuse for his side’s defeat. United paid four times as much as the entire Albion starting line up for Rasmus Hojlund alone.
The problem for United is not a lack of money. It is that they are rubbish at spending it. You only have to look at the names and scores in these Man United 1-3 Brighton player ratings to realise that.
Jason Steele – 8.50
Made an important stop from Marcus Rashford when United were on top in the early exchanges but would have expected to be much busier going to Old Trafford. Several good moments in possession.
Joel Veltman – 8.58
Had the ominous task of facing Rashford which he dealt with reasonably well. One hugely important flying block got just enough on a shot from the England international to divert it onto the bar with Steele probably beaten.
Jan Paul van Hecke – 8.92
Another strong showing means he has surely usurped Adam Webster in the pecking order to partner Lewis Dunk. Loves a battle with a lone centre forward and kept £72 million striker Hojlund quiet for the most part.
Lewis Dunk – 8.83
What a nine day period this is turning into for the Brighton captain. A superb display for England against Scotland on Tuesday night backed up by leading the Albion to victory over United. Dunk will then make further history on Thursday as the first ever Albion skipper to lead the club out in a European tie when AEK Athens come to the Amex.
Tariq Lamptey – 9.09
There’s a star man, playing on the right left. After the concern that the Albion did not have backup for Estupinan, Brighton fans can sleep a little easier now as Lamptey looks more than capable of playing on the opposite side to his natural position. A brilliant way for him to mark his first start for six months following injury, including playing a part in both second half goals.
PASCAL GROSS – 9.17
Covered every blade of grass and hardly wasted a pass as he ran the show from midfield to top the Man United 1-3 Brighton ratings. A virtuoso performance capped off with that beautiful feint to leave Lisandro Martínez on the floor before stroking the ball into the bottom corner beyond Andre Onana.
Mahmoud Dahoud – 7.83
De Zerbi said in the first couple of weeks of the season that it would take some time for Dahoud to adapt to the way Brighton play. Wasted a couple of passes but grew into things as the game went on. A good option to have.
Simon Adingra – 8.58
His full Premier League debut brought with it an assist inside of 25 minutes for Danny Welbeck. A promising display up and down the right made more impressive by it being his weaker side.
Adam Lallana – 8.08
Having been injured since January, Lallana had almost become a forgotten man. His first start of the season was a reminder of his supreme footballing intelligence, especially with that outrageous dummy which leftyWelbeck with a shooting chance for the opening goal.
Kaoru Mitoma – 8.00
Aaron Wan-Bissaka dealt with Mitoma better than any other right back last season. The former Crystal Palace man was only on the bench this time around, but still Mitoma did not have his normal impact.
Danny Welbeck – 8.58
Welbz is dat guy. Seemed to thoroughly enjoy his return to Old Trafford, capped off with a goal in front of the Stretford End. A performance which should silence the doubters for a week or two at least.
Ansu Fati – 7.67
Albion fans got their first look at Barcelona’s number 10 wearing a Brighton shirt. A lively 25 minutes, although he probably should have done better with an effort kept out by Onana late on.
Joao Pedro – 8.67
Produced a magnificent and clinical finish to add the third goal shortly after coming off the bench. Better decision making than in recent weeks too.
Billy Gilmour – 8.25
Introduced to tighten up the midfield and help Brighton see out the win. Had Fati scored his one-on-one opportunity, Gilmour would have had one of the assists of the season for the ridiculous through ball which played the Barcelona man in.
James Milner – 7.67
Became the first player in Premier League history to win at Old Trafford with four different clubs – Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool and now the Albion.
Evan Ferguson – 8.08
Only on the pitch for five minutes yet still managed to go close to scoring in that time. Seeing first hand what a circus United are currently will hopefully make him think twice about leaving Brighton for Old Trafford next summer should a bid come in.
The WAB Player Ratings are formulated using marks out of 10 given by Brighton fans via Twitter. To have your scores included, follow We Are Brighton on Twitter and look out for the player rating thread after each game.
