Fabulous Fernandes fires Man Utd past Brighton

Bruno Fernandes stole the show as Manchester United remained in pursuit of a top-four finish with a comprehensive 3-0 victory at Brighton on Tuesday.

Mason Greenwood’s sixth league goal of the season gave United the lead inside 16 minutes at the Amex Stadium before Fernandes combined with Paul Pogba to double their tally before the half-hour mark.

Fernandes then extinguished Brighton’s second-half revival as his emphatic volley rounded off a devastating United counter within five minutes of the restart.

David de Gea prevented Aaron Connolly, Neal Maupay and the lively Leandro Trossard from registering a deserved Brighton consolation after an improved second-half display, but the damage was done as they tasted their first defeat since the restart.

The victory extends United’s unbeaten run to 15 games and lifts them up to fifth, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea ahead of their trip to West Ham on Wednesday. Brighton stay 15th, six clear of the relegation zone.

How Fernandes fuelled top-four charge

United had lost both Premier League trips to the Amex but Brighton’s hopes of becoming just the sixth team to win three consecutive home games against Solskjaer’s side were extinguished in an imperious first-half display.

Bruno Fernandes rattled a shot against the post on 12 minutes and it was a matter of time before the sustained pressure on the Brighton goal told.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s threaded pass played Greenwood through one-on-one against Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk and, after a couple of stepovers fashioned a yard of space, the United youngster found the net through his legs with a near-post finish.

United’s attacking dominance saw Fernandes open his account on 29 minutes, with Pogba rolling the ball into the Portuguese’s path before his deflected shot breached Mat Ryan at the near post for the second time.

Graham Potter introduced Maupay and Trossard at the break and Brighton made a marked improvement early in the second period. But no sooner had they looked to grab a foothold in the game, it was put out of sight.

A devastating counter that started with Harry Maguire heading clear ended with Greenwood hurtling down the left flank and standing a brilliant cross to the back post where Fernandes lashed a first-time effort home.

Trossard whistled a shot inches wide of the United goal on the hour before setting up Aaron Connolly for Brighton’s best chance of the game, but De Gea proved more than a match for the Irishman’s curling effort.

After Trossard flashed another shot wide, Maupay’s late effort drew another fine save from De Gea as Brighton were denied a late consolation on a sobering evening on the south coast.

Opta stats: Solskjaer silences Seagulls

• Manchester United extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches across all competitions (W11 D4); only Bayern Munich (25 games) are currently on a longer such streak without defeat among all sides in Europe’s big-five leagues.
• Brighton have won fewer Premier League games in 2020 than any other side (P13 W1 D7 L5).
• This was Brighton’s biggest home league defeat of the season, with their last Premier League loss by a three-goal margin at the Amex coming on the final day of the 2018-19 campaign (1-4 v Man City).
• Manchester United have kept more clean sheets in their last 13 league games (eight) than they managed in their first 40 under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær (seven).
• Manchester United completed a league double over Brighton for the first time since the 1981-82 campaign, with tonight their first away win over the Seagulls since April 1982.

What’s next?

Brighton travel to Norwich on Saturday at 12.30pm, before Manchester United host Bournemouth on Saturday at 3pm.

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