Brighton and Hove Albion vs Manchester United. Premier League.
Amex StadiumAttendance31,577.
Report and free match highlights as Alexis Mac Allister fired Brighton to sixth in the Premier League by converting a dramatic added-time penalty to dent Manchester United's Champions League hopes
Friday 5 May 2023 10:04, UK
Brighton avenged their recent FA Cup penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester United by claiming a late 1-0 win thanks to Alexis Mac Allister's dramatic stoppage-time penalty.
United, hoping to consolidate their place in the top four, were dealt the decisive blow when referee Andre Marriner was sent to the pitch-side monitor by VAR in the 99th minute of an otherwise goal-shy encounter, awarding a last-gasp spot-kick for a Luke Shaw handball.
Mac Allister, roared on by a raucous Amex Stadium crowd, held his nerve to thump the ball beyond the clutches of David De Gea, in turn moving Brighton above Tottenham and Aston Villa, while leaving United looking nervously over their shoulders.
"In the end if you can't win because you can't finish, you don't lose," Erik Ten Hag lamented.
The Seagulls' chances of catching United and scraping into the Champions League spots remain extremely slim, with Ten Hag's side eight points better off, but a top-five finish is a distinct possibility going into a hectic final month of fixtures - Roberto De Zerbi's side are four points adrift of Liverpool with a two-game advantage.
"I think there is a god of football," the Brighton boss beamed. "We played a fantastic game."
It was a stunning late twist - one that could play a significant role in who gets to enjoy the rigours of continental football next season, and in which competition.
"If you get beaten, you want to have revenge," Ten Hag warned pre-match. So it proved.
A breathless opening, full of risk but no reward, saw Antony squander United's most presentable chance after only two minutes, before Kaoru Mitoma followed suit by striking his opportunity against the face of De Gea.
The game ebbed and flowed, end-to-end at times, with Jason Steele called into action to deny low efforts from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, while De Gea was also kept honest by the trickiness of both Julio Enciso and Mitoma.
Much the same as the meeting at Wembley 11 days prior, Brighton offered more consistent threat, but were failing to discover much cutting edge.
Emotions ran high throughout, fuelled by Brighton's supposed FA Cup injustice and stoked by the fiery temperaments of both Bruno Fernandes and Antony - the latter one of eight names to be taken by referee Marriner.
In the end, fortune favoured the brave.
With time running out, and Ten Hag's side seemingly content with a point, the hosts continued to pour forward in search of a breakthrough. Substitute Solly March, who missed the decisive spot-kick in that semi-final defeat, lashed wide and De Gea superbly denied Moises Caicedo's curler.
The contest grew increasingly feisty before Shaw inexplicably handled a corner, clawing the ball away from the head of Lewis Dunk and, after Marriner had belatedly pointed to the spot, De Gea flung himself one way while Mac Allister's strike went the other.
"We deserved to win today and we deserved to win the semi-final," De Zerbi concluded.
The triumph represents the Italian's twelfth league win as Brighton manager in his 26th game in charge, equalling the number of victories managed by Graham Potter in the entirety of last season.
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi:
"I am really happy, really delighted for the performance, for the result.
"I think there is a god of football because we deserved to win in the semi-final and we lost on penalties, here we won with a penalty for us. Both games I think we played better than United and the last result was unfair.
"We played a fantastic game, we dominated the game against one incredible team, one great team. But I think my players deserved to win."
Asked what this says about what Brighton can achieve this season, De Zerbi, keen to focus on the next game at home to Everton on Monday, replied: "At the moment, nothing."
He added: "We are to play another six games, six very tough games, and on Monday we will play the first game, very tough against Everton, and we have to win because if we do not win against Everton we lose these three points."
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag:
"In the first minute we create a great chance but we do not score so we have to be more clinical with the chances that we create in the first half.
"We had the chances, clearly. Antony, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Casemiro. One has to go in. But if you cannot win it because you do not take your chances, do not lose it. We gave away a goal, maybe we lose a little bit of focus. That cannot happen.
"Also, we were a little unlucky because it was never a free-kick that the corner was coming from. There were so many bad tackles tonight where there was no whistle and this was nothing, a fair block, and there is a whistle.
"We cannot bounce back [on the night] but that is what we have to do on Sunday."
Brighton continue their quest for European football when they host relegation-threatened Everton on Monday May 8, kick-off 5.30pm. Man United head to West Ham on Sunday at the later time of 7pm.
May 8: Everton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm
May 13: Arsenal (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 18: Newcastle (A) - Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm
May 21: Southampton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm
May 24: Man City (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 28: Aston Villa (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
May 7: West Ham (A) - Premier League, kick-off 7pm
May 13: Wolves (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Bournemouth (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 25: Chelsea (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 28: Fulham (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
June 3: Manchester City (N) - FA Cup final, kick-off 3pm
