Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 Manchester United: Red Devils' Player Ratings as Trossard & co. hand them their fifth consecutive PL away defeat | Premier League 2021-22

Manchester United suffered a 4-0 trouncing at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, May 7.

United entered the contest on the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford in their last outing. They were keen to secure a win to finish as high as possible in the league table. Brighton, on the other hand, have defeated three of the top eight in the past month and were keen to spring another surprise at home.

With Enock Mwepu out, Brighton were expected to make a nervy start as Pascal Gross came into the side. However, the hosts built pressure on Manchester United with their quick passing and movement.

They attempted multiple shots, one of which fell kindly to Moises Caicedo, who unleashed a pin-point driven shot into the bottom corner. The ball traveled through Victor Lindelof's legs and past David de Gea to make it 1-0 for the hosts. It was the midfielder's first goal in the Premier League.

Manchester United started the game like a side that looked divided. They lacked co-ordination in their press and often squandered chances to attack as well. Brighton did well to capitalize on this and turned the mood of the stadium around with their high-intensity play.

Raphael Varane made a terrible mistake late in the first half and lost the ball. Danny Welbeck could have doubled the hosts' advantage from the resulting possession but could not find the right finish.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes cut frustrated figures as half-time approached. The sides went into the break with Brighton leading Manchester United 1-0.

Ralf Rangnick introduced Fred and Edinson Cavani to the game with the intention of adding some more experience to the side. However, Brighton were unwilling to budge and continued to press high up the pitch. They were keen to inflict a fifth-consecutive away defeat on Manchester United.

Marc Cucurella added fuel to the fire with a venomous strike into the top corner in the 49th minute to make it 2-0. Leandro Trossard provided the assist for the goal with a calm cut-back from the by-line.

Things got worse for Manchester United as they conceded yet again in the 57th minute. Trossard provided another assist for Pascal Gross to score from to make it 3-0. The latter did well to dribble past a defender and coolly slot the ball past an onrushing de Gea.

Leandro Trossard then got on the scoresheet himself after bundling the ball into the net following Welbeck's dinked effort. Diogo Dalot failed to make a decent clearance and it ricocheted off the Brighton man and into the net to make it 4-0.

In a game where Manchester United looked like a shadow of the side that beat Brentford, things did not look good at all. Brighton & Hove Albion secured a massive win after sitting deep and preventing their opponents from scoring.

United are now languishing at the sixth spot with 58 points from 37 games. Tottenham Hotspur, at the fifth position, were at 62 points from 35 matches going into their game against Liverpool.

That said, let's take a look at the Red Devils' player ratings.

---

Manchester United Player Ratings

Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United - Premier League

David de Gea - 5/10

De Gea was at full-stretch for the shot Brighton scored from. He saw the ball late and could not react in time to save it. He ended up conceding three more goals in the second half in a worrying display by Manchester United.

Diogo Dalot - 7/10

Dalot was one of Manchester United's standout performers in terms of statistics. He made five clearances, two blocks, five interceptions and four tackles. A slight blemish on his performance was a yellow card that he got in the 47th minute.

Victor Lindelof - 5.5/10

The Swede could have done better by positioning himself to block Caicedo's shot on goal. He did not contest the ball at all throughout the game, as is evidenced by his stat line of zero contested duels.

Raphael Varane - 5.5/10

Varane made an awful error in the first half which could have easily seen Brighton double their lead. He slipped and slid all over the pitch in an uncharacteristically poor performance.

Alex Telles - 6/10

Telles had an average game for Manchester United on the left flank.

Scott McTominay - 6/10

McTominay had a frustrating game and committed as many as five fouls. He was lucky not to be booked.

Nemanja Matic - 7/10

The Serb looked like the only composed player in Manchester United's midfield. He used his experience to retain possession in key moments. He was replaced by Fred at the interval.

Juan Mata - 6.5/10

The Spaniard put in a performance to the best of his abilities.

Bruno Fernandes - 7/10

Fernandes had a decent outing and was the chief distributor of the ball for United. He played three accurate crosses and five accurate long balls. He also completed two successful dribbles and won six out of his seven ground duels. The Portuguese unleashed a thunderous volley goalwards in what was United's best chance.

Anthony Elanga - 6/10

Elanga looked out of sorts in a tough game for his side.

Cristiano Ronaldo - 6/10

Ronaldo looked off-color and could not find his feet to help United get back into the game. He was booked for a foul committed in frustration at the end of the first half. The legendary striker had five shots, none of which were on target.

Substitutes

Fred - 6/10

He came on for the second half and failed to make an impact as his side conceded three second-half goals.

Edinson Cavani - 6/10

Cavani had one shot on target but failed to test Sanchez in Brighton's goal.

Harry Maguire - 6/10

Maguire came on with United already 4-0 down in the game. He did well to keep Brighton at bay until full-time.