Manchester United condemned Brighton & Hove Albion to an unwanted milestone after being inspired to an important win their Premier League encounter in Tuesday night. Goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes were enough to secure a 2-0 win for the Red Devils who have now returned to the top four once more.
Following the weekend's disappointing 1-1 draw at Burnley, Ralf Rangnick's side went into the game looking for a response. However, it was not to be in the first half with a drab showing producing no goal. The second half started in a different fashion as the host will show more intent than they did at first and were soon rewarded for their persistence.
Cristiano Ronaldo fired United in front in the 51st minute with his first goal of 2022 and his 11th since returning to the club last summer. With fortune favoring the Portuguese superstar and his teammates, they were handed another edge following the sending off of Lewis Dunk who was deemed to have denied Anthony Elanga a clear goalscoring opportunity by the Video Assistant Referee.
Manchester United could have been two goals up earlier but for Bruno Fernandes missing a one-v-one chance with Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after being set-up by Cristiano Ronaldo. In the dying minutes of the proceeding, the 28-year-old playmaker had the opportunity to return the favor to his compatriot but went for goal by himself to seal the win for the hosts.
The implication of the result was that Brighton have still been unable to beat the Red Devils at Old Trafford in their 124 years of existence. Relatively, Ralf Rangnick's men demoted West Ham to fifth to occupy fourth place with 43 points after 25 matches.
