Mason Greenwood completes Manchester United comeback as Dean Henderson takes no. 1 jersey
Manchester United's Mason Greenwood celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer walked straight into the latest chapter of his goalkeeper controversy at Old Trafford on Sunday night but at least Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood ensured that weekend events mean a top-four finish now looks all but guaranteed.
With David de Gea left on the bench, and Dean Henderson presumably now enthroned as Solskjaer’s first choice, an early goal from former United striker Danny Welbeck was followed by an appalling first half performance by the Reds.
But, in a much-improved second half show, Rashford struck a 63rd minute equaliser following a rare error in the Brighton defence by Joel Veltman.
The Dutchman cleared the ball directly to Bruno Fernandes whose threaded pass hit Rashford’s darting sprint into the area in his stride.
While Fernandes was hacked to the ground by Veltman - who somehow escaped a caution for his late foul - Rashford really punished Brighton, driving the ball low into the far corner.
It was a goal that had been impossible to imagine in the first half but United’s recovery was complete after 83 minutes when Greenwood stole three points that give his team an 11-point cushion in the chase for the Champions League places.
A Fernandes cross picked out Paul Pogba whose mis-hit shot fell kindly for Greenwood; the youngster’s stooping header somehow squirming through keeper Robert Sanchez and defender Ben White on the line.
“Sometimes after an international break it takes time and fireworks have to be lit at half-time,” said Solskjaer.
“But it was a very good second half. The first goal was good play from Bruno and a great finish by Marcus and the second was a very good goal all round.
“Mason has been learning from Edinson (Cavani) and it’s important he learns some of his traits. Mason needs to add goals like that to his tally because we know what a wonderful talent he is. When he can add those sort of headers, he will be an even bigger talent.”
The second-half comeback - a common occurrence for Solskjaer’s team this season - ruined an emotional return for Welbeck, who struck after just 13 minutes with a goal that exposed the defensive shortcomings that have reared their head all too often in this most inconsistent of seasons.
Pogba gave the ball away in midfield, Brighton broke down the right through Neal Maupay whose far-post cross hung in the air long enough for Welbeck to ghost away from a dozing Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The striker’s point-blank header was well saved by Henderson only for Brighton’s former United man to show amazing reflexes and instantaneously head the rebound past the stranded keeper.
For all the pre-match talk was about Henderson’s selection, what followed certainly illustrated that the United manager has issues other than his number one goalkeeper to address.
Greenwood struck the post with an instinctive shot after just eight minutes, latching onto Lewis Dunk’s headed clearance, but that was as good as the first half would get for Solskjaer’s side.
For all their dominance in possession, United repeatedly ran out of ideas in the final third, too often ending attacks with hopeful and aimless punts forward and it was not an exaggeration to say they were outplayed and outthought by Graham Potter’s side in that half.
In fact, Brighton deserved more. Five minutes after the opening goal, Dunk’s header was touched onto the cross-bar by the faintest of touches from Henderson.
It was the first time since August 2019 that United had played through the first half of an Old Trafford league match without producing a shot on target and Solskjaer, for one, was distinctly unimpressed.
The Norwegian manager’s voice could be heard echoing around the empty stadium, offering advice and criticism in equal measure, but it was not hard to see how his team had come into the game having scored just six goals in their previous eight games.
The news, pre-match, that Anthony Martial has a sprained knee, sustained on international duty with France last week, and may not play again this season was hardly information that promises to improve United’s prospects of improving that statistic moving forward.
United, at least, began the second half with more urgency, Rashford spinning away from Adam Lallana after 51 minutes and hitting the ball directly at keeper Robert Sanchez from 25 yards, his team’s first shot on target.
That was a rare example of United moving the ball quickly, trying to exploit gaps in such a well-drilled opponent and the improvements continued.
On the hour Pogba picked out the run of Fernandes and Sanchez was required to race off his line to block the Portuguese as he threatened, an attack that was followed, minutes later, by Rashford’s equaliser.
There were chances at both ends in an entertaining final quarter of the match - a Fred shot being deflected just over for United and Sanchez spilling a Fernandes shot which Greenwood could only clip over the bar at full stretch.
But, either side of those efforts, Welbeck and Brighton might have snatched a second which few neutrals would have begrudged, but the striker could only push Maupay’s cross wide of the goal under pressure from Maguire.
Henderson 6; Wan-Bissaka 5, Lindelof 6, Maguire 7, Shaw 7; Fred 6, Pogba 6 (McTominay 84); Greenwood 7, Fernandes 8, Rashford 7 (James 72, 6); Cavani 5 (van de Beek 81). De Gea, Diallo, Matic, Williams, Tuanzebe.
Sanchez 5; White 7, Dunk 8, Veltman 6; Gross 7, Bissouma 7, Lallana 7 (Zeqiri 87), Moder 7 (Jahanbakhsh 87); Trossard 6 (Mac Allister 63, 6); Maupay 6, Welbeck 7. Karbownik, Alzate, Izquierdo, Steele, Propper, Caicedo.
M Dean 7
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
