Brighton rock Man United as Old Trafford crisis mounts

LONDON – Troubled Manchester United plunged deeper into crisis as Brighton & Hove Albion swept to a shock 3-1 win at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Erik ten Hag’s side were rocked by a first-half goal from former United forward Danny Welbeck, before Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro put Brighton further ahead after the interval.

Hannibal Mejbri’s first goal for the club was no consolation for United, who were booed off at the final whistle of the English Premier League clash.

It was United’s second successive defeat after their 3-1 loss at Arsenal before the international break.

“It is a heavy one. We have to look at ourselves,” said United midfielder Christian Eriksen. “The small things we are missing and a bit of luck to get over the line and get something out of the effort we put in.

“Any game at the start of the season, doesn’t matter who you play, is very important. We focus on our games and whoever we play we want to win. But we have lost three already and we have to change that.”

With only two wins from five league games this season, the Red Devils have the look of a club in turmoil on and off the pitch – amid

Jadon Sancho’s disciplinary issue,

Antony’s abuse allegations and the sale of the club in limbo.

Ten Hag appeared to have stabilised United last season when he ended the club’s six-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup and qualifying for the Champions League in his first campaign.

But hopes of a title challenge are already fading after a dismal start, with a daunting Champions League opener at Bayern Munich on Wednesday threatening to add to their woes.

They had lost their past three league games against Brighton, including last season’s corresponding fixture in ten Hag’s first match in charge. Once again, Brighton proved impossible for the Red Devils to subdue.

“It feels great. A great win at Old Trafford, it is an amazing feeling. We deserved it too, we played with courage, with a big heart and definitely deserved to win,” said Seagulls goalkeeper Jason Steele.

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur thought they were heading for their first defeat of the season after trailing to a 73rd-minute goal from Sheffield United’s Gustavo Hamer.

But, in a thrilling turn of events, two stoppage-time goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski won the game 2-1 for Ange Postecoglou’s men, who clinched their fourth win in a row.

Manchester City made it five wins from five after a 3-1 win at West Ham United, with goals coming from Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland after James Ward-Prowse had opened the scoring for the hosts.

In the early kick-off, Liverpool beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 away thanks to two late goals.

The hosts dominated the first half at Molineux against an unusually sloppy Reds side, with Hwang Hee-chan stroking in a goal in the seventh minute after a brilliant run from Pedro Neto.

Liverpool came out transformed in the second half, however, and Mohamed Salah set up fellow forward Cody Gakpo for a tap-in equaliser in the 55th minute.

Wearing the captain’s armband on his 200th Premier League appearance, Andy Robertson slid in the team’s second from another Salah pass in the 85th minute.

Liverpool made it three in time added on, with Wolves’ Hugo Bueno deflecting the ball into his own net.

“Obviously, some of us just weren’t at the races in the first half,” said Robertson.

“You have to be ready to play the game and it took us 45 minutes to get into it.

“In the second half, we came out and changed our formation slightly... We had people higher up the pitch. We dominated the second half and probably got what we deserved.”

Klopp summed it up the best way possible, saying: “The first half was really bad, but the second half was really good. Do I want to see that every week? No. But today I’ll take it, a massive, massive three points.” AFP, REUTERS