Manchester United 1-0 Brighton and Hove Albion: Player Ratings

An unfortunate Lewis Dunk own-goal gave Manchester United all three points against newly-promoted Brighton and Hove Albion. Chris Hughton's side had the better start, creating a number of chances from the wide areas by putting in teasing balls into the six-yard box.

United were not at their very best, but managed to break the deadlock when Ashley Young's shot took a massive deflection off the brilliant Lewis Dunk to make its way into the corner of Mathew Ryan's goal. Brighton rallied late on, but United stayed firm.

Here are the talking points from a gripping game at Old Trafford:

Manchester United

David de Gea - 7/10

de Gea made one save to ward off Pascal Gross' shot early on, and then made a few routine catches.

Antonio Valencia - 7/10

The United skipper complemented Rashford very well in the wide regions and also kept Marsh in check to ensure he was not able to make any approaching runs towards the byline.

Victor Lindelof - 7/10

Lindelof had a better game compared to his earlier outings, making an excellent tackle in the second-half to deny Knockaert from approaching United's defensive third while on the break. He did have minor issues regarding his positioning against the unpredictable Glenn Murray, but the 31m signing is slowly finding his feet in the Premier League.

Chris Smalling - 6.5/10

Smalling was given a couple of heart-in-mouth moments by the runs of Anthony Knockaert, but managed to keep him shy of goal.

Ashley Young - 8/10

Young was United's best player on the pitch at Old Trafford. He was bright on the left flank, keeping 37-year old Bruno on his toes as he moved forward and sought to create space for a cross.

The veteran made a fantastic run into the box close to half-time, skipping in between two players before his cross was dealt with by Brighton. His goal - albeit taking a wicked deflection off Dunk - led to the vital breakthrough. He had a few problems handling Knockaert on the defence, though that threat declined as the game progressed.

Nemanja Matic - 6.5/10

Apart from a handful of misplaced passes, Matic was quietly efficient in sitting midfield as he made crucial interceptions to break Brighton's play through the midfield.

Paul Pogba - 7/10

Pogba was the chief orchestrator again, building up play from the back and getting involved in every potential attack in the final third. Some of his passes to locate onrushing players on the flanks were a treat to watch. His free role with Matic as cover really has helped him express himself this season.

Marcus Rashford - 7.5/10

Rashford was fantastic down the right-hand side, roaring forward from counter-attacks and skipping past Bong with his fleet-footedness and electric pace. His cross for Lukaku at the end of the first-half nearly resulted in a goal, but for Ryan's double-save.

Juan Mata - 6.5/10

Mata was the central point of United's attacks through the middle, but was greeted by a yellow wall every time he tried to pick out a pass.

Anthony Martial - 6.5/10

Martial was dangerous, as usual, from a left attacking position, skipping past challenges to charge into space in the penalty area. His threat was well countered by Brighton's heroic defenders.

Romelu Lukaku - 6.5/10

Lukaku had a couple of good opportunities to score, first skying a shot under no pressure in the opening 10 minutes, before seeing his header at the end of the first period wonderfully kept out by Ryan. He was seen dropping deep to help open up goal-scoring opportunities, but Brighton were not to be distracted.

Substitutes:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 6/10

Ibrahimovic made purposeful runs into the attacking third and also got a shot or two away. But it will be a while before he fully recovers from his ACL which kept him sidelined for several months.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 6/10

Mkhitaryan replaced Mata in attacking midfield. He looked promising with his passing and lay-off balls but the under-fire Armenian may not have done enough to warrant a starting place for the next game away to Watford.

Marouane Fellaini - 6/10

Fellaini was sent on to shut shop and used his aerial prowess to deal with long balls and crosses coming into the box.

Brighton and Hove Albion

Mathew Ryan - 7/10

The Australian made a brilliant double-save to keep Lukaku and Pogba out at the stroke of half-time. He was helpless to do anything about Young's deflected strike.

Bruno - 7/10

Bruno struggled to keep up with Ashley Young's brilliance on the ball, but was excellent pressing forward. The 37-year old surprised many with his willingness to push up the pitch and support Knockaert. He also delivered a couple of quality crosses which went across the face of goal.

Shane Duffy - 7/10

Duffy was immense at the back, for Chris Hughton's side, repelling one United attack after the other. He maintained the required communication with his fellow defenders in order to play the offside trap and not allow any opponent to get in behind them.

Lewis Dunk - 7/10

Brighton's long-serving defender was in impressive form at Old Trafford, committing to vital slide tackles to deny the likes of Rashford benefiting from counter-attacks. He was focused during set-pieces and was an integral part of a very organised Seagulls' defence. He can deem himself extremely unlucky that Young's shot went off him and into the top corner.

Gaetan Bong - 5/10

The Cameroonian full-back didn't contribute much going up and defensively allowed Rashford and Valencia the room to put in crosses. He was constantly second-best to Rashford's twinkle-toed feet and pace down the wings.

Anthony Knockaert - 7.5/10

Knockaert missed a golden opportunity in the second minute, opting to lay the ball for Glenn Murray rather than try to find the far corner. He was impressive on the right-wing, making incoming runs and testing Ashley Young with his trickery on the ball. He was also seen tracking back when his team needed him in defence.

Dale Stephens - 6.5/10

Stephens protected his defence well, ensuring that Mata and Matic were unable to thread passes through the heart of the Seagulls' set-up.

Davy Propper - 5.5/10

Given a box-to-box role, Propper was ineffective and didn't really look like getting the better of Matic in the midfield duel. Unlike Gross, Propper failed to break forward and add to Brighton's goal-seeking prospects.

Solomon March - 5.5/10

March looked promising early on going forward, but soon fizzled out and was unable to produce any quality from the left-hand side. Bong's inclination to defensive duties didn't help his cause either.

Pascal Gross - 7/10

Gross was Brighton's busiest player on the pitch in a number 10 role, looking to pierce the defence with through-passes while also releasing the full-backs when opportunities presented themselves. His whipping low crosses posed problems aplenty for United's centre-halvesHe tested de Gea early on with a low drive.

Glenn Murray - 6/10

Murray was goal-shy at Old Trafford and was not able to get a shot on target despite Brighton posing more than a threat in attack. He was unable to come in contact with crosses whizzing across the face of United's goal via. Knockaert and Gross.

Substitutes:

Tomer Hemed - 5/10

Hemed replaced Murray in the quest to equalize for Brighton, but he hardly saw the ball.

Jose Izquierdo - 5/10

The Colombian was ineffective during his short stint on the pitch.

Isaiah Brown - N/A

Brown came on in the 88th minute - too late to make an impact.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh