Man United vs. Brighton live score, updates, highlights

February 15, 2022 admin

Manchester United will be looking to make their case for a top-four spot tonight as Ralf Rangnick’s side welcomes Brighton & Hove Albion to Old Trafford. This rearranged fixture was originally scheduled to be played in December, but a series of COVID cases at Man United forced the postponement.

United can leapfrog rivals West Ham into 4th place in the table with a win against the Seagulls, as the Red Devils move level on games played with the Hammers. An all-important top-four placement will grant a UEFA Champions League berth to the team finishing there at season’s end.

Rangnick was left frustrated by United’s 1-1 Premier League draw at home to Southampton at the weekend as his charges allowed a winning position to slip for the third successive game this month.

MORE: Premier League races for European places

Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo starts for United, despite not scoring in 2022, with midfield anchor man Fred also back in contention. Meanwhile, Brighton head coach Graham Potter will have one eye on a possible Europa League challenge in the coming weeks after his side ended their three-game winless streak with a 2-0 victory at struggling Watford last time out.

Sporting News will be following the match live and providing live score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

Manchester United vs. Brighton live score

	1H	2H	Final
Man United	0	1	—
Brighton	0	0	—

Goals:
MUN — Cristiano Ronaldo — 51st min.

(All times Eastern)

53rd min.: RED CARD — Moments later Lewis Dunk takes down Anthony Elanga, who intercepted the ball and was heading on goal. The referee shows Dunk the yellow, but after reviewing the video he shows the red card.

51st min.: Goal Manchester United! The Red Devils turn the ball over, the ball winds up at the feet of Ronaldo and he knows exactly what to do, firing home with conviction. The drought is over.

46th min.: Second half is underway. No changes for either team.

Halftime: Man United 0, Brighton & Hove Albion 0

43rd min.: Anthony Elanga wins a free kick for Man United in a dangerous spot. Fred, Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes are all on the ball on the edge of the box, slightly off to the right. Ronaldo’s shot goes off the wall.

39th min.: What a save by David De Gea! Moder again! De Gea goes full stretch to stop his header. That was a simple cross and header execution by Brighton. The Seagulls look like they can score any time they’re around the box.

35th min.: The match has hit a bit of a stale stretch, but Brighton is not being troubled. Another tough day at the office for Man United (at home, no less).

“We forgot that you were here,” sing the Brighton supporters to the home fans.#munbha #bhafc

— RichieMills (@RichieMills2) February 15, 2022

25th min.: This game has fallen into a pattern with Brighton holding prolonged spells of possession. Once Man United wins the ball back, it wants to get to the Brighton box in 2-3 passes max. We’ll see which team approach is going to work.

15th min.: Brighton very comfortable in possession, but Man United dangerous in transition and they almost got another look via Jadon Sancho. But Brighton’s Marc Cucurella applied the expert shoulder bump to nudge him off the ball in the box.

6th min.: And now a chance for United! Cristiano Ronaldo wins the ball after a Webster mistake and he delivers a delightful backheel pass to Jadon Sancho whose shot is stopped. Nice flow to these opening minutes.

Fotmob giving 0.44 xG to that Sancho chance, it begins…

— Aaron Moniz (@amonizfootball) February 15, 2022

5th min.: Brighton starts strong and Man United’s David De Gea has already had to make a save on a point-blank shot by Jakub Moder.

1st min.: We’re off. This is a fascinating matchup. Brighton has never won at Old Trafford.

2:45 p.m.: Late change in the United lineup due to illness striking Raphael Varane.

Raphael Varane has pulled out of tonight’s starting line-up due to illness.

Victor Lindelof will replace him in the starting XI, and Tom Heaton will be the addition to our bench. #MUFC | #MUNBHA https://t.co/H48qHeM4LC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 15, 2022

2:40 p.m.: Who had Graham Potter coming to Cristiano Ronaldo’s defense ahead of the match?

“You run out of superlatives in terms of what he’s achieved in his career” ?

Graham Potter has praised Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Brighton’s trip to Old Trafford this evening. pic.twitter.com/CK2fc6QTtU

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 15, 2022

Manchester United vs. Brighton lineups

Rangnick makes two changes to the starting lineup that faced Southampton with Anthony Elanga and Fred returning to the XI in place of Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba, respectively. Eric Bailly (ankle) and Nemanja Matic (shin) are out injured.

Raphael Varane did not feel right during warmups and was replaced in central defense by Victor Lindelof.

Manchester United starting lineup (4-2-3-1, left to right): 1-David De Gea (GK) — 23-Luke Shaw, 5-Harry Maguire (capt.), 2-Victor Lindelof, 20-Diogo Dalot — 17-Fred, 39-Scott McTominay — 36-Anthony Elanga, 18-Bruno Fernandes, 25-Jadon Sancho — 7-Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United subs (8): 26-Dean Henderson (GK), 27-Alex Telles, 29-Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 4-Phil Jones, 14-Jesse Lingard, 6-Paul Pogba, 8-Juan Mata, 10-Marcus Rashford

Potter tweaks his starting formation compared to the one that beat Watford over the weekend. Adam Lallana, Tariq Lamptey and Danny Welbeck get a breather with Alexis Mac Allister, Yves Bissouma and Leandro Trossard replacing them.

Brighton starting lineup (4-4-2, left to right): 1-Robert Sanchez (GK) — 3-Marc Cucurella, 4-Adam Webster, 5-Lewis Dunk (capt.), 34-Joel Veltman — 10-Alexis Mac Allister, 8-Yves Bissouma, 15-Jakub Moder, 13-Pascal Gross — 9-Neal Maupay, 11-Leandro Trossard

Brighton subs (9): 23-Jason Steele (GK), 2-Tariq Lamptey, 24-Shane Duffy, 17-Steven Alzate, 20-Solly March, 25-Moises Caicedo, 14-Adam Lallana, 18-Danny Welbeck, 58-Evan Ferguson

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