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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Man Utd achieve Premier League first - by making no tackles in entire half

Manchester United failed to make a single completed tackle during the first half of their 2-0 win against Brighton at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.

It's the first time they've failed to do so in the Premier League this season.

Ralf Rangnick's side were booed at the interval - with the score goalless - before putting in a stellar performance in the second half to secure a much-needed win.

The result has lifted United, who have 13 Premier League fixtures remaining this campaign - up to fourth in the table.

West Ham, Arsenal, Wolves and Tottenham remain in the hunt for Champions League football. The Gunners are just four points behind United with three games in hand.

Will Manchester United finish in the top four this season? Let us know in the comments below!

Scott McTominay was excellent against Brighton in the second half after struggling in the first (REUTERS)

As collated by The Athletic, United's data is damning. They failed to complete a tackle until Anthony Elanga stole the ball from Leandro Trossard in the 50th minute.

Before then, the Red Devils lost eight duels - six of which were in the first half.

Perhaps most worrying is Fred's and Scott McTominay's respective contributions. Both players lost three battles each before Elanga showed them the way.

Having said that, McTominay's first successful tackle was pivotal - dispossessing Yves Bissouma in the 51st minute to set up Cristiano Ronaldo's opening goal.

It was - quite literally - a game of two halves for the Red Devils. After Elanga's successful tackle, they lost just one more duel before the full-time whistle.

One of the most important tackles was Elanga's dispossession of Lewis Dunk, which led to the Brighton defender's dismissal in the 54th minute.

"First half was Mr Hyde, second half Dr Jekyll and for a change it [the result] was different," admitted Rangnick after the game.

"In the end it was important to get the three points against an in form team.

"Brighton are very possession based, full of confidence and we had to take more risks in the second half, it paid off.

"We scored the goal and got the red card for Lewis Dunk with a brilliant interception from Anthony Elanga.

"It should have been 3-0, 4-0 after 75 minutes but there is a bit of lack of assuredness in front of goal.

Ralf Rangnick will need more consistency from his team if they want to finish in the top four (Getty Images)

"We realised that they had too often possession of the ball and could only intercept in few situations. Should we change to a formation to back three?

"We decided to stick to 4-2-3-1 with more risk and it paid off.

"In the first 10 minutes of the second half we had more success moments and it raised the crowd, they were not moaning and were getting behind the team.

"I can understand if it feels to them like Brighton have 60 per cent possession, that is not what they want to see."

United fans will be hoping for more impressive displays during the coming weeks, with vital fixtures in both the Premier League and Champions League approaching.

After travelling to bitter rivals Leeds on Sunday, United face Atletico Madrid (twice), Watford, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool before the end of March.

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