Man United 4–2 Brighton: Thrilling win hands Amorim three straight victories

Manchester United earned an entertaining 4–2 home victory over Brighton, handing Ruben Amorim his third consecutive win at Old Trafford since taking charge.

Matheus Cunha curled United into the lead, ending a 16-game goal drought, before his provider Casemiro added a second via a wicked deflection.

Bryan Mbeumo extended United’s lead to 3–0 before Danny Welbeck and teenager Charalampos Kostoulas scored from set pieces to get the Seagulls back into the game. Mbeumo added his second, securing a thrilling win and lifting United into fourth in the Premier League .

Bruno Fernandes could have put the home side ahead inside the first minute, but he steered Mbeumo’s looping cross wide.

The game took a quarter of an hour to liven up, with Welbeck firing straight at Senne Lammens and Bart Verbruggen denying Cunha’s dipping long-range effort.

Amad Diallo appealed for a penalty after Maxime De Cuyper’s challenge inside the area, but a touch on the ball spared the Seagulls.

United grew frustrated as referee Simon Cooper let several challenges go, before Cunha received a short pass from Casemiro 20 yards out and expertly slotted into the bottom left. The Portuguese’s strike ended a 16-game goal drought for club and country, his smile reflecting the relief.

The home side grew in confidence and doubled their advantage when Casemiro’s long-range effort deflected off Ayari, wrongfooting Verbruggen. Luke Shaw had pressed high to dispossess Georginio Rutter , forcing Brighton into trouble, and the effort paid off.

United threatened again before the break as Fernandes turned composurely, feeding Mbeumo, who laid it off to Benjamin Šeško, but the striker sliced wide.

Brighton cheaply gave possession away 11 minutes into the second half, though Šeško’s miscued shot failed to punish them.

Rutter then showed vision after a challenge from Shaw, setting up Mbeumo to fire home his third of the season. The Frenchman came close again soon after, forcing Verbruggen into a fine save.

Patrick Dorgu appeared to clip Yankuba Minteh in a one-on-one with Lammens, earning a yellow card, and Brighton capitalised as Welbeck brilliantly converted the resulting free kick to spark a fightback.

Fabian Hürzeler’s side showed fight afterwards, with teenager Kostoulas scoring his first Premier League goal off the bench from an inswinging corner. Yet United struck back immediately as Ayden Heaven cleared a header toward Mbeumo, who raced onto it and smashed a powerful effort into the top-right corner.

Brighton’s late fightback was not enough to avoid defeat, while Manchester United earned their first-ever three-game winning streak under Ruben Amorim.