OLE GETS LUCKY
But Solskjaer knows last-gasp win can’t hide team’s failings
NEAL MAUPAY chipped a cheeky Panenka penalty high into David de Gea’s net with the Manchester United goalkeeper sprawled on the floor. Then the Frenchman wheeled away towards the empty stands, screwed up his fists and held them to his eyes as if to cry.
Boohoo. Maupay hadn’t only embarrassed De Gea, who kicked the ball at him in anger, he now seemed to be mocking Brighton’s opponents after putting the Seagulls in front just before half-time.
Little more than an hour later, at the climax of a frantic and frankly quite barmy game, the Frenchman stood in roughly the same spot and this time the tears welling in his eyes were genuine.
Maupay couldn’t believe what he had just done: raised his arm to deflect Harry Maguire’s header inside his own penalty area. What followed almost beggared belief. The final whistle, the protestations from both teams, the dramatic VAR check pitchside and, finally, Bruno Fernandes scoring from the spot to make it 3-2.
Maupay’s face was a picture and one that summed up Brighton’s heartbreak. They deserved to win, never mind draw. Five times they hit the woodwork, with Leandro Trossard getting an unwanted hattrick of striking both posts and the bar, and had another penalty award overturned for Paul Pogba’s clumsy challenge on Aaron Connolly.
Yes, United had two goals disallowed but for the second week in a row they had been outplayed by a team likely to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
For Crystal Palace read Brighton & Hove Albion. Having lost 3- 1 against Palace, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that his team ‘got away with one’ on this occasion and he was right.
Thankfully for the manager he will be spared another week of criticism and inquests, but the truth is that an undercooked United were every bit as sluggish again.
They got out of jail thanks to a flash of inspiration from Marcus Rashford and Maguire’s presence in the Brighton penalty area that led to the other two goals. Most of all, though, they got lucky.
‘I don’t think we’ve ever scored after the final whistle,’ said Solskjaer, a veteran of countless United wins in Fergie Time. ‘But we’ve discussed it this season and we need more late goals.
‘When they equalised that is two points lost — or maybe one point was what we deserved, we didn’t deserve more.
‘We’ve got to be honest enough to say Brighton created the most chances. They had a lot of shots and big chances. We need to improve a lot in the weeks going forward.
‘We know we’re not at our peak with sharpness and fitness because of the long season we had in Europe and the late preseason. We had prepared for that but you could see towards the end they had more steam than us. We had enough in the tank to create a reaction to their equaliser.
‘We’ve got three or four weeks catching up to do to a few teams. The more games we play and the more 90 minutes the lads get, we’ll be better and sharper.The spirit and the character of the boys I don’t question at all because I see them every day. The sharpness and fitness might not be there and the form, but it’s going to come.’
Brighton manager Graham Potter had every reason to look bereft. His team were outstanding. Once the shellshock of this result wears off, they will wonder long and hard just how it happened.
Potter, to his credit, did not complain other than to question whether United should have been given time to snatch a winner after Solly March had headed Brighton level at 2-2 in the fifth and final minute of added time. It was the 100th minute when Fernandes stepped up to add the final, dramatic twist. ‘I thought we scored with the last kick of the game — I don’t know where the extra time came from,’ said Potter. ‘We are bitterly disappointed to concede in the way and time we have. It was a cruel blow after a fantastic performance. I spoke to the group and said I was sorry I couldn’t make them feel any better apart from saying how well they all played. I thought the performance was amazing, as well as I’ve seen us play.
‘ At the moment it’s very sore because we haven’t taken anything from the game. To not come away with anything seems a bit cruel.
‘It’s a shame that there aren’t supporters here to see a wonderful game but I’m sure they would have felt as sick as us at the end. That’s how brutal this league is.’