Player Ratings: Manchester United 2-0 Brighton Hove Albion

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Manchester 2-0 United Brighton | Premier League

Manchester United end a run of draws with a victory against Brighton.

A passive first half was followed up by a rampant start to the second with Cristiano Ronaldo getting back amongst the goals with a great piece of individual skill. United then found themselves with a man advantage almost instantly as Lewis Dunk was dismissed for pulling down a goal-bound Anthony Elanga.

United pushed for a second in order to avoid history repeating itself. The second came in the 97th minute as Bruno Fernandes slotted away to secure the three points.

Here’s how each player performed with a rating out of 10:

Goalkeeper and defence

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David de Gea: 6

Despite some poor distribution actions at times, De Gea did what De Gea does, a sensational save to deny Moder from opening the scoring.

Diogo Dalot: 6

One of few positives for United on the night. Had the impetus to take the ball and drive the team forward while creating in forward areas.

Victor Lindelof: 6

A comfortable display despite only knowing of his involvement 50 minutes before kick-off.

Harry Maguire: 6

A much more assured performance from the captain. Maguire kept his game simple, which is probably what is needed for the centre-back to start building some form.

Luke Shaw: 5

Shaw seemed to play within himself, he didn’t link up with Sancho as we have seen in recent weeks. In a game that lacked creativity from a United perspective, you’d hope for a lot more from him.

Midfield

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Scott Mctominay: 5

A very safe performance from Mctominay. He was left alone in midfield at times as Fred acted as the more adventurous midfielder but Mctominay failed to take control of the game leaving a number of gaps in midfield.

Fred: 5

United’s best presser of the ball and he was constantly hunting the ball. However, at times it was reckless but United’s chances came from Fred’s kamikaze pressures. His passing still needs work though.

Bruno Fernandes: 6

Fernandes failed to truly take control of proceedings and missed a glaring opportunity, however his goal in the 97th minute deserves merit for the relief it provided alone

Attack

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Anthony Elanga: 6

A lot of effort to drive with the ball and that resulted in Dunk’s red card. But the final bit of quality was lacking from the Swede.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 7

His first goal of the new year was pure individual quality. A great bit of play to get the ball out of his feet before a great finish from outside of the box. He could’ve and maybe should’ve went away with the match ball.

Jadon Sancho: 6

Another strong display from United’s £72m signing. He had the early chance which was kept out by Robert Sanchez. Despite the team’s troubles, his confidence is growing.