Manchester United vs Brighton LIVE!
Manchester United endured a miserable 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton on Sunday after visiting winger Yankuba Minteh scored one goal and created another, with the hosts not helped by a howler from goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter were also on the scoresheet in the second half for Brighton, who also had a goal from Joao Pedro ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up. Bruno Fernandes netted a penalty for United to level the score at 1-1 at halftime but, after Brighton took the lead for the second time, Onana spilled a routine gather from a low cross into the box, allowing Rutter to tap home the loose ball.
Brighton climb to ninth place with 34 points, four points off the top four. United are 13th on 26 also from 22 games. Read the game back below with our dedicated match blog.
Manchester United vs Brighton latest updates
- GOAL! Rutter wraps it up
- GOAL! Mitoma pokes home to restore lead
- GOAL! Fernandes levels it from the penalty spot
- GOAL! Minteh after five minutes
Full-time!
15:59 , Alex Young99min: The game ambles to a conclusion.
Another miserable day at the office for United.
91min: Eight minutes added on.
89min: United pushing but they simply do so little with the ball.
So much huffing and puffing until Fernandes or Garnacho try to score from distance.
85min: Lamptey is on for Estupinan. That will be to combat Amad.
80min: Antony is coming on.
GOAL!
15:38 , Alex Young76min: Rutter has only been on a few minutes, but surely puts this one beyond United.
Onana let’s a shot spill - a real howler - to let Rutter fire home. United have barely got out of first gear.
Amorim turns away in disgust.
72min: Garnacho tries to race clear on the counter but superb defending from Baleba mops up and then wins his team a free-kick off Collyer.
69min: Minteh and Welbeck are off, March and Rutter are on.
67min: Huge applause for Amad as he tracks back and tackles Mitoma inside his own half.
65min: Mainoo and Ugarte are off, Collyer and Garnacho are on.
62min: Garnacho and Collyer warming up.
GOAL!
15:21 , Alex Young61min: This one counts!
Not for the first time, Mitoma leaves Mazraoui for dust and ghosts in at the back post to poke home.
59min: Fernandes has done very well with his set-piece deliveries today, this time putting it on De Ligt’s head... who heads wide.
57min: Brighton straight back with possession.
NO GOAL!
15:16 , Alex Young55min: Van Hecke kicked Dalot during the melee. It’s the correct decision.
54min: VAR are taking a look. A possible foul on Dalot?
GOAL!
15:14 , Alex Young53min: Pedro fires home after United fail to deal with a set-piece!
49min: Amad runs at the defence and cuts inside, but his shot is blocked by Dunk.
47min: Baleba leathers a shot right at Maguire, who takes it right in the body and doesn’t move an inch.
That must have stung in this cold weather.
Second half
15:05 , Alex Young46min: Back underway.
The players are coming back out.
Zirkzee has really made himself a handful up top, and won the penalty.
He is making the most of his start, so far.
United haven’t done too badly, to be fair, but they need to improve to get the win they desperately need today.
Half-time!
14:50 , Alex Young48min: There’s the whistle.
United will be glad to be level.
46min: Fernandes whips in a free kick which Maguire meets at the far post to head back across goal... but Yoro is offside.
45min: Two minutes added on.
43min: Welbeck shoudl score!
Minteh holds up the ball very well before slipping in Welbeck, who can’t get the better of Dalot inside the area.
De Ligt is now down after booting it clear.
40min: Amad races clear and rounds Verbruggen, but he’s not beaten the offside flag.
36min: There is so much hesitation in this United team, and Maguire is chief among the issues.
A bouncing ball comes into the area, and it simply needs to be taken down and booted clear, but the defender pauses and lets Welbeck nip in ahead of him and almost create a chance.
33min: United still struggling to assert themselves on Brighton, who are pressing very well.
Mainoo needs to see more of the ball.
30min: Brighton are back on top since the goal, with Welbeck plenty involved. United really struggling with Minteh and Mitoma on the flanks.
26min: Painful one for Ayari, who lands on his back from a height. He’ll be OK to continue, but: ouch!
24min: Right then, what do United have now?
GOAL!
14:24 , Alex Young23min: Fernandes makes no mistake from 12 yards.
PENALTY MAN UTD!
14:23 , Alex Young20min: Zirkzee wins it after being dragged down inside the area.
18min: Fernandes swings at a shot, misses it, it bounces off his standing foot... and he blames Zirkzee.
Classic.
15min: United again with more of possession but they arn’t getting Amad on the ball... yet.
13min: Huge cries for a foul on Dalot after Minteh comes in from behind, but the referee isn’t interested.
That looked like a foul to me.
9min: United have reacted well to going behind, more patience on the ball as they try to calm things down.
7min: United straight back on the ball looking to respond. Amorim is pacing around a lot.
GOAL!
14:08 , Alex Young5min: A super start from Brighton!
They’ve bossed the early possession and a simple ball over the top is collected by Mitoma, who simply puts it on a plate for Minteh to slot home.
Maguire plays him on.
3min: Nervy moment as Onana punishes a cross into Welbeck, but the ball bounces behind for a goal kick.
That could have gone anywhere.
Kick-off
14:04 , Alex Young1min: Here we go!
Amazing tribute. Now it’s time for some football.
Old Trafford stadium announcer Alan Keegan reads out a poem in tribute to Law.
“He’s still The King of the Stretford End.”
That was lovely, a very slow match out for the teams behind a man playing bagpipes. Applause from all corners.
Here they come, led out by a tribute to Denis Law with bagpipes.
Right then, the teams are in the tunnel.
The teams are back in their dressing rooms. Not long now.
Amorim on team news and Southampton win
13:45 , Alex Young"We have to rotate because of this schedule. Don't forget that we played for an hour a man down against Arsenal, and then I felt we needed changes from the last game.
"The best thing is to win, the feeling is so good and we needed it a lot. We have to continue to improving and the biggest thing is to control possession [which includes] creating chances."
Final prep for both squads.
How will this guy get on today?
Tributes to Denis Law
13:33 , Alex YoungSir Alex Ferguson: "He was the best Scottish player of all-time. Denis was a fantastic player. He was an incredible human being."
Brian Kidd: “He scored any type of goal. You name it, Denis scored them type of goals. His leap for such a small, slight person was unbelievable.
“He was superb. The best thing was that he was such a wonderful person.”
Half an hour until kick-off.
Welbeck ready to haunt Man Utd
13:19 , Alex YoungWelbeck is back in the Brighton XI and leads the line today, with Pedro, Minteh and Mitoma in support.
That is a fast attack and all gunning to help the experienced Welbeck against his former club.
Welbeck has five goals in 14 games against United, including two in the last two seasons.
Luke Littler is at Old Trafford today. A huge United fan, Littler is just back from Bahrain where he was competing in the Bahrain Masters.
Hojlund dropped, Yoro starts
12:56 , Alex YoungSo, as expected, Hojlund’s miserable form has caught up with him and he’s been dropped in favour of Zirkzee.
Yoro had a nightmare time against Sulemane last time out but Amorim gives him a show of faith to start him again, with Maguire coming in for Martinez.
Garnacho, amid ongoing transfer speculation, is on the bench.
Team news in full
12:50 , Alex YoungManchester United XI: Onana; De Ligt. Maguire, Yoro; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Amad, Fernandes, Zirkzee
Subs: Bayindir, Martinez, Malacia, Casemiro, Collyer, Eriksen, Antony, Garnacho, Hojlund
Brighton XI: Verbruggen, Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan, Baleba, Ayari, Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma, Welbeck
Subs: Steele, Lamptey, Webster, McConville, March, Gomez, Enciso, Adingra, Rutter
Brighton XI
12:46 , Alex Young...and the visitors!
TEAM NEWS! 🚨 Here's our starting XI to take on @ManUtd this afternoon. 👀📝 pic.twitter.com/XeyNX6NSXm
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 19, 2025
Man Utd XI
12:45 , Alex YoungHere’s how the hosts look...
📋 Today's starting XI to face Brighton.#MUFC || #MUNBHA
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 19, 2025
Brighton did the double over Manchester United last season. A third win on the spin today?
It has been confirmed that Denis Law’s family are at Old Trafford today.
Team news to come in 15 minutes. Does Zirkzee start, does Ugarte get dropped, where will Amad play?
Amorim: Man Utd must change from being a 'team of transition'
12:22 , Alex YoungRuben Amorim believes Manchester United must move away from being a team that thrives on transitions.
United's first-half performance against Southampton threatened to undo what had been a solid week for them after earning a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the league and sealing a penalty shootout victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup.
When asked if United are built to be reactive rather than taking the initiative, Amorim replied: "I think this is something that you can see from the past and we were, in the past, a team of transition. And we still are.
"You can feel it - to create chances in the final third, we struggle. We struggle a lot but, for that, I think it's the most difficult.
"I say that, before the game, it's the most difficult moment to train against low blocks, trying to create situations.
"I think it is a team that feels more joy waiting for the play and then, in transition, creating problems. So it's something that we have to change. To change, we need training. So to have time to change, we also need to win games and we have tried to do that."
Match odds
12:15 , Alex YoungThe bookies are backing Manchester United to beat Brighton today, despite the teams’ opposing form.
- Manchester United: 6/5
- Draw: 12/5
- Brighton: 11/5
(Odds via Betway.)
Hundreds have already paid their tributes to Denis Law, the club legend who passed away on Friday at the age of 84.
The striker won two league titles with United and was a member of their European Cup-winning side under Sir Matt Busby in 1968 when they became the first English club to lift the trophy.
Known as 'The King', Law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in 2021, and his family announced his death on Friday evening.
United will pay tribute to Law ahead of kick-off, and hundreds of flowers and notes have already been laid outside the ground.
Score prediction
11:57 , Alex YoungUnited were incredibly poor for much of the match against Southampton and they will surely be punished if there is a repeat of that here.
Amorim’s side have shown they can sit deep and grind out results away from home against big teams, but they have not yet proved capable of taking the initiative and controlling matches.
Brighton will not come just to defend and their energy could cause a vulnerable United side plenty of problems.
Brighton to win, 2-1.
Early Brighton team news
11:50 , Alex YoungAs for Brighton, Danny Welbeck has come off the bench in the last two matches and will be hoping for greater involvement here against his former club.
Lewis Dunk should come back into the starting lineup. New signing Diego Gomez might be involved but Igor Julio is out for the season.
Early Man Utd team news
11:42 , Alex YoungJoshua Zirkzee is pushing to start today.
The Dutchman has had an impact off the bench against Arsenal and Southampton in recent matches and will hope to get the nod over Rasmus Hojlund, who has not scored in over a month.
Diogo Dalot is available again after suspension and should come straight back into the side, allowing Amad Diallo to start in the more advanced role from which he scored a late hat-trick against the Saints.
Leny Yoro started in that match but could drop to the bench for Brighton’s visit to Old Trafford if Harry Maguire returns to the starting lineup.
Christian Eriksen and Toby Collyer are options to start in midfield if Ugarte is rested.
Why isn’t Manchester United vs Brighton on TV?
11:35 , Alex YoungDespite the game is being played at 2pm GMT this afternoon, it was initially scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 18, 2025 with a 3pm GMT kick-off time.
So, as per the '3pm blackout rule' imposed across English football, this fixture can not be televised on national television unless selected for live coverage.
However, Sky Sports are instead showing Everton vs Tottenham followed by Ipswich vs Manchester City.
Match of the Day 2, however, will show highlights when it airs at 10.30pm GMT on BBC One tonight.
Welcome
11:28 , Alex YoungGood morning and welcome to the London Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Manchester United and Brighton.
It’s another tough test for Ruben Amorim’s side, who made hard work of Southampton last time out and will have to be at their best again today - and hope Amad Diallo pops up again.
It will also be a sombre day with tributes planned for club legend Denis Law, who passed away on Friday.
Kick-off is at 2pm. Stick with us.
