Man United 1-3 Brighton player ratings: Minteh and Mitoma turn on the style against sorry Red Devils | OneFootball

It’s one step forward and two steps back for Manchester United under Ruben Amorim, who was hoping for consecutive Premier League wins this afternoon.

Fresh off an incredible comeback victory over relegation-threatened Southampton, in which Amad Diallo once again rescued the Red Devils with a remarkable 12-minute hat-trick, the hosts were optimistic about causing more damage against the Seagulls.

However, they faced another harsh reality check, as Brighton ran out 1-3 winners at Old Trafford.

Yankuba Minteh and Kaoru Mitoma scored for the visitors, either side of a Bruno Fernandes penalty. Georginio Rutter then came off the bench to secure another victory for Brighton at Old Trafford. This marked United’s sixth home Premier League defeat of the season, the most they have suffered in their opening 12 home matches of a league season since 1893-94, when they lost seven.

United have lost 10 of their 22 Premier League games this season, marking the earliest point in a league campaign they have reached double figures in defeats since the 1989-90 season under Alex Ferguson, which also occurred after 22 games.

While Amorim is not in immediate danger of losing his job and facing relegation seems unlikely, it is evident that United will continue to be a Jekyll and Hyde team until the Portuguese tactician has the opportunity to have a full pre-season under his belt.

Man United player ratings

André Onana: 33%

This marks the ninth consecutive match in which Onana has failed to keep a clean sheet, and it is the third time in the last five home matches that he has conceded at least three goals. Today, the Cameroonian international made one error that led to a goal, and his long passing accuracy was only 26.67%, which resulted in frequent possession losses to Brighton. Furthermore, his total of -0.78 goals prevented was the worst among all goalkeepers who played today.

Leny Yoro: 57%

This felt like one of Yoro’s better performances, but he was still part of a defence that conceded three goals. The 19-year-old made one interception inside the penalty box, won all his aerial duels, and achieved an impressive 92% retention rate, higher than any centre-back playing in the early afternoon matches today.

Harry Maguire: 48%

This performance stood in stark contrast to his recent FA Cup appearance against Arsenal at the Emirates. Maguire ranked in the lower percentile among central defenders who played in today’s early games, particularly in terms of interceptions and duels won both aerially and on the ground. The fact that he was dribbled past underscored the risks associated with stepping forward from defence.

Matthijs de Ligt: 54%

He won two tackles and his single aerial duel, but De Ligt struggled once Brighton gained the upper hand against United, with his ground duel success rate being 60%.

Diogo Dalot: 64%

Questions remain whether Dalot is Manchester United’s long-term solution at left wing-back. In defeat, the Portuguese defender retained possession through two interceptions and completed two successful take-ons. Although he was not dribbled past, Dalot was dispossessed once in his own half. However, he made amends by initiating two successful offside traps and winning possession four times in the defensive third.

Kobbie Mainoo: 45%

At times, it seems that Mainoo tries too hard, which may stem from being a homegrown United talent eager to succeed for his struggling team. Unfortunately, there were very few positives, if any, for the 19-year-old, as indicated by his performance in key metrics. He managed to win possession only once in the middle third of the field.

Manuel Ugarte: 44%

Just a few weeks ago, many praised Manuel Ugarte for his performance in the Liverpool draw. However, this afternoon he had a concerning showing. While he remained effective in winning tackles, achieving two successful ones, his forward passing accuracy was disappointing at just 33%. To make matters worse, the Uruguayan international was dribbled past four times during the match.

Noussair Mazraoui: 56%

Mazraoui had some encouraging moments during the match, registering two interceptions that helped retain possession and winning one tackle. However, he was dribbled past on two occasions and made one unsuccessful touch, which overshadowed his two touches in the opposition’s box. He did manage to win possession three times in the defensive third.

Bruno Fernandes: 71%

He brought the game level with his successful penalty conversion, but Fernandes, who produced 13 penalty area entries—more than any attacking midfielder from today’s early afternoon kick-offs—was unable to create a single big chance.

Amad Diallo: 60%

A drop from Thursday’s heroics. Diallo, nonetheless, created four chances, but none were considered ‘big’ ones. His eight touches in the opposition box yielded one shot, but even that wasn’t on target.

Joshua Zirkzee: 50%

He earned the right to start after his impressive cameo off the bench in United’s comeback win over Southampton. However, it’s fair to say the Dutchman failed to seize the opportunity, even though he won the penalty that led to Fernandes’ equaliser. Zirkzee had two shots on goal, but neither was on target, resulting in a 0.21 xG score.

Brighton player ratings

Bart Verbruggen: 57%

He would have felt let down for not maintaining a clean sheet after Fernandes scored from the penalty spot. Nonetheless, Verbruggen demonstrated his strength with three effective punched clearances.

Pervis Estupiñán: 63%

Another marauding performance from Estupiñán, who completed four passes into the final third while registering at least one touch in the opposition penalty box. He also successfully initiated three offside traps.

Lewis Dunk: 62%

Dunk’s defensive prowess was highlighted by his success in aerial duels, where he emerged victorious in all instances, alongside winning 66.7% of his ground duels. Additionally, he demonstrated an impressive retention rate of 91%.

Jan Paul van Hecke: 63%

The other Dutch colossus made two crucial blocked shots while he gained possession an impressive five times in the defensive third, which is more than any center-back playing in the early Sunday afternoon games.

Joël Veltman: 60%

The former central defender, now a reliable full-back, Veltman, won possession twice in the defensive third and, like Brighton’s other full-back, completed four passes into the final third. However, the Dutchman had one unsuccessful touch, which affected his final rating.

Yasin Ayari: 62%

Played effortlessly cool in the middle third, with Ayari completing two take-ons, giving him a 100% success rate. He also made four penalty area entries, more than anyone in this game.

Carlos Baleba: 56%

Baleba created one goalscoring opportunity, but it wasn’t clear-cut enough to be considered a ‘big’ chance. Although he made a single interception inside the penalty area and won possession twice in the middle third, his overall rating suffered due to inconsistency in his performance. He won only 40% of his attempted take-ons, and his success rate for passes into the final third was below the average for players in his position.

Kaoru Mitoma: 71%

It’s been a relatively uneventful campaign for Mitoma as he continues to seek out his first standout season with the Seagulls. However, today served as a reminder of the Japanese winger’s brilliance. He scored and recorded an intentional assist for only the second time in his 74 appearances in the division, and this was his first such contribution since August 2023 against Wolves.

João Pedro: 55%

Playing in a deep-lying forward role, he had a goal ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up. Nevertheless, he was unable to create a single chance and won just two of his six attempted take-ons.

Yankuba Minteh: 81%

This was an outing to remember for Minteh on both sides of the game. He put in a solid performance by winning three tackles, but importantly, from an attacking perspective, he broke the deadlock and touched the ball six times in the opposition box and succeeded in all of his take-on attempts. His two big chances created resulted in one intentional assist, making this the first time Minteh both scored and assisted in the same Premier League game.

Danny Welbeck: 43%

Back at his old hunting group, Welbeck could only manage one shot on goal that wasn’t on target. He did, though, register one high turnover, two fewer than Zirkzee, who led in that metric in today’s game.

How do Squawka player ratings work?

Squawka’s new player rating system is wholly stats-based. Player scores are based on the numbers they put up across a range of on-ball events, from goals scored to tackles won.

We tailored each score to the players’ respective positions using extensive research and expertise. For example, forwards are rated on metrics like shots on target, touches in the opposition box, and big chances created. Meanwhile, centre-backs are rewarded for winning aerial duels, making blocks, successful long-range passes, etc.

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