Manchester United travel to Brighton for Saturday’s early Premier League kick off hoping to build on an encouraging victory over Fulham in their opening match of the season. Though the Red Devils only triumphed 1-0, they looked a composed and dominant side especially in possession of the ball.
New forward Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench and combined with fellow substitute Alejandro Garnacho to slot home the only goal of the game and get himself off the mark in his very first outing for United. There were plenty of encouraging signs for boss Erik ten Hag though he will realise that his team were too open to the counter-attack and work needs to be done to shore up the defence.
For their part, Brighton have had an exceptional start to the new season. They travelled to Merseyside and faced Everton at Goodison Park. The Toffees, suffering from a few injuries, never turned up and goals from Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck and Simon Adingra ensured the Seagulls got off to the best possible start and ended the first gameweek top of the table.
Follow all the action from today’s Premier League encounter below:
Goalkeeper Tom Heaton reckons ‘everything’s looking rosy’ at Manchester United
Tom Heaton believes things are “looking rosy” at Manchester United this season and beyond, praising the new coaching set-up and young talents he requested to play with in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy opener.
Fiercely ambitious Ineos has made widespread changes since taking charge of football operations earlier this year after Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a stake in the Premier League giants.
United are work in progress but things appear to be heading in the right direction at both first-team and development levels – something Heaton is uniquely placed to assess.
Jack Rathborn24 August 2024 09:50
Manchester United have wasted billions, but ‘those days are over’
Dan Ashworth, United’s new sporting director, was adamant they would not. It was a point of principle. “Those days are over,” he was heard to say. Another line uttered at the top of Old Trafford was “the gold at the end of the United rainbow is no more” for other clubs.
Jack Rathborn24 August 2024 09:40
Brighton vs Manchester United team news
For Brighton, there are no new injury concerns after the win against Everton, although they hope to welcome back Evan Ferguson, Pervis Estupinan and Tariq Lamptey. New signing Yankuba Minteh impressed on debut, but he was forced off in their opener and he may miss out. Simon Adingra, or new signing Georginio Rutter, could replace Minteh.
Valentin Barco may be fighting to get his spot back at left-back over Jack Hinshelwood (who is a midfielder by trade), while James Milner and new signing Mats Wieffer will likely anchor the midfield once again.
The United duo of Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund will remain out of the squad as they nurse long-term injuries, as does Luke Shaw. It is not yet known if Victor Lindelof is fit to return, but Erik ten Hag confirmed that Harry Maguire is not injured after coming off against Fulham.
New signing Matthijs de Lift may start after being used as a substitute last time out due to a lack of match fitness, while Noussair Mazraoui should keep his place after an impressive debut.
Jack Rathborn24 August 2024 09:29
Good morning!
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Premier League action as Brighton play host to Manchester United in the first match of the weekend’s fixtures.
The Seagulls could take a firm grip of top spot if they comfortably defeat the Red Devils after a 3-0 victory over Everton sent them to the top of the league table following the opening round of fixtures.
Manchester United also collected three points against Fulham. Joshua Zirkzee arrived off the bench to slot home Alejandro Garnacho’s cross for the only goal of the game.
Neither side will want to relinquish the momentum they are building so this should be a fascinating contest. We’ll have all the team news, updates and more throughout the day so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 12.30pm.
Mike Jones23 August 2024 14:57