BRIGHTON – MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1:
Manchester United fought back from being behind against Brighton in the second half. Amad Diallo equalized for the visitors after former United player Danny Welbeck had put the hosts in the lead before halftime.
About ten minutes later, it seemed that the away team had turned the game around through Alejandro Garnacho.
– I’ve never seen that before
At least not until we saw the replay of the goal. Right in front of the goal was newcomer Joshua Zirkzee. The TV footage showed that the ball hit the knee of the Dutchman just before going into the net, and thus the goal was disallowed for offside.
– I have never seen an offside like that, it’s incredible, writes The Athletic journalist Michael Cox on X.
– It was so unnecessary. A brilliant attack from the visitors, says BBC journalist Simon Stone on the same platform.
– It never ceases to amaze me that VAR takes so long for such a simple decision. Unlucky for Manchester United after a brilliant attack, writes Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst about the incident.
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On the sidelines, manager Erik ten Hag was clearly frustrated and just shook his head at the situation.
Talksport expert Darren Bent could hardly believe what he was seeing.
– If that ball hadn’t hit Zirkzee, United would be leading 2-1, he says.
Things got worse for United in overtime. Joao Pedro emerged at the back post and headed in the winner for Brighton.
Danny Welbeck at 100
32 minutes into the match, Danny Welbeck slid the ball into the net from close range, putting the hosts in the lead.
The former United player was left unmarked in front of the goal and could simply push the ball into the net.
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In the wake of the goal, the defensive duo Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martínez both received criticism.
– Maguire’s defending is completely awful. Lisandro Martínez also chooses the wrong player to mark. It’s not even good enough at an amateur level, says former United player and Viaplay expert Bojan Djordjic in the channel’s halftime studio.
Right after what was Welbeck’s 100th goal of his club career, Marcus Rashford found the net at the other end of the pitch. The shot was initially saved, but the ball landed on the heel of a lying Rashford and sneaked into the net.
However, the goal was disallowed for what appeared to be a correct offside.
Thus, the home team could go into halftime with a lead after 45 minutes and added time in Brighton.
Decided in extra time
Early in the second half, the home team had good opportunities to double the lead.
First, veteran James Milner made a penetrating run and got the ball past United keeper André Onana, but behind the keeper, the defense was in place and cleared the loose ball from the former Liverpool player.
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Shortly after, Welbeck got his head on the ball from a cross by Yankuba Minteh. The shot hit the crossbar.
Instead, it was the visitors who struck back through Amad Diallo. The winger was just onside when he was played through. From a slightly angled position, he freed himself and smashed the ball towards goal. Brighton’s defenders tried to block, but ended up deflecting it into their own net.
The match seemed to have turned when Garnacho sent the ball into the net after just over 70 minutes, but Zirkzee had indeed touched the ball, and after a VAR check, it was concluded that the goal should be disallowed for offside.
It appeared to be heading towards a points share, but in extra time, Joao Pedro secured the victory for the home team with a header.