Combating Guardiola's praise
It was around 10 days ago when Pep Guardiola labelled Brighton as the best team in the world for building-up play from the back, using their goalkeeper and central defenders to draw pressure on and then spring into life when the opposition were out of shape.
Stopping that possession-based approach of Roberto De Zerbi has been beyond plenty of teams this season, so it was interesting to see how United would go about it.
They avoided committing too many to the press for most of the game, aware that is what Brighton want. They also defended in a 3-2 shape to which Luke Shaw was key.
READ MORE: United player ratings vs Brighton
This was Shaw's seventh start at centre-back this season and as comfortable as he's looked in that position, he's never quite had a test like this before.
What central defenders want is a static centre-forward to mark, someone who can give them their bearings and keep them in position all game. Brighton don't do that, they use two forwards who play more like No. 10s, dropping into midfield to provide overloads during their build-up play.
To combat that, United used Victor Lindelof as a spare man at the back, while Shaw pushed up to mark one of the forwards, which began as Julio Enciso and Danny Welbeck and became Alexis Mac Allister and Deniz Undav. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot looked after Karou Mitoma and Solly March.
Brighton always manage to create overloads or free men, however, and almost always they were the full-backs, Pascal Gross or Pervis Estupinan. It was an approach that worked for United given their lack of influence in the final third.
Shaw's man-to-man positioning also meant there were occasions when he had to retreat rapidly, such as when the lively Enciso turned him in the first half. When the ball went beyond Shaw it was often a problem for United, but generally they got the set-up right to combat a problem Guardiola had identified. Aside from a much-changed side in the Carabao Cup, Brighton had scored in 23 of their last 24 games, but United ground them to a halt.
Fernandes' impact
They say a player's stock can often rise highest when they aren't involved and that was certainly the case for Bruno Fernandes in Seville on Thursday. The Portuguese was suspended for the Europa League quarter-final second leg and without him United were toothless.
Fernandes has 10 goals and 11 assists this season, but he offers so much more than just the numbers. He can speed up the play and while his high-risk approach always comes with the caveat of possession only ever being on loan, he can also unlock a defence with his vision and his ambition.
United were lacking in both of those areas against Sevilla. After they went behind they never looked like scoring again to salvage their Europa League hopes.
With Fernandes back in the side against Brighton, he was the player who made things happen for Erik ten Hag's team. When United were in the game he was at the centre of it, for better or worse. He had three good opportunities in the first half and created chances for Antony and Anthony Martial by winning the ball back.
But after picking up a knock on the ankle in a tackle with Welbeck he then spent a good chunk of the first half complaining, including going down when barely touched by Pervis Estupinan. It was the best and worst of Fernandes, but he is key to United's attacking play.
Martial's conviction
This was a rare day for Anthony Martial, going beyond 72 minutes for only the second time this season, but as performances go it isn't one he will remember particularly fondly.
Early in the second half Antony found space to break into down the right, with just Martial in support, but the striker never made the run you would expect of an elite No. 9, a goalscorer who has the desire to be in front of goal every time.
He hung back from Adam Webster, never quite getting close to the centre-back, and when Antony's ball trickled across the box it was an easy clearance. Had Martial made a lung-busting run to attack the six-yard box then he might have got on the end of it.
Martial has a decent goalscoring record this season, but there are still these moments when he lacks the instincts of someone like Harry Kane. He scores goals, but he could score an awful lot more if he made those runs.
Brighton scouting report
There is so much to admire about Brighton as a football club these days, not least their style of play and magnificent recruitment. This squad is full of players being watched by the Premier League's biggest clubs who were plucked from relative obscurity.
Nineteen-year-old Paraguayan Julio Enciso looks to be the next player likely to be the subject of significant interest within the next 18 months or so. He scored a stunning goal at Stamford Bridge last week and was excellent at Wembley.
But two players likely to be on the radar for United this summer are the midfield pair of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister. Both will be the subject of significant interest this summer.
It was Caicedo who looked the more assured at Wembley. United competed with Brighton to sign him in 2021 and clearly missed out on a gem. He was happy to take the ball under pressure throughout this game and either kept it moving or took an opponent out of the game. He would be a brilliant signing this summer.
De Gea's mixed approach
The first time United played the ball back to David de Gea at Wembley there was a roar of anticipation from the Brighton support at the opposite end of Wembley. The goalkeeper controlled the ball and knocked it wide to Aaron Wan-Bissaka. They swapped passes once move before the full-back tried to find Antony.
It was a comfortable enough start for the 32-year-old after the nightmare he endured with the ball at his feet in Seville, and he took a mixed approach to distribution against Brighton.
He wasn't averse to going short, but also sought out longer passes, trying to exploit the Brighton press. With Lewis Dunk often drawn into midfield by Bruno Fernandes, there was space to be targeted and Rashford almost got in from one such straight pass.
At one stage in the first half Shaw took a goal-kick short to De Gea, but the two had a chat before doing so. When the next goal kick came a couple of minutes later United's defence was nowhere to be seen and De Gea launched it upfield. It was the kind of mix-and-match approach the Spaniard should have taken on Thursday night.
And while his kicking is under the microscope at the moment, his shot-stopping is usually reliable. He made two very good second half saves to deny Enciso and Solly March.
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