Brighton were freakishly unlucky against Manchester United - but here's where they must learn

In the latest column from Brighton & Hove Albion podcast Football, the Albion and Me, podcast host Richard Newman says the Seagulls have a right to feel hard done by following defeat to Manchester United – but they must learn not to switch off.

Some say that in football, you earn your own luck. If that’s the case, Brighton & Hove Albion have some good times coming in the games to come.

It’s unlikely we’ll see a match quite so bizarre again this season, or a fixture where Albion will play as well and somehow get nothing from it, as in the 3-2 defeat to a below-par Manchester United on Saturday.

Two Premier League firsts were witnessed at the Amex – a penalty awarded by VAR after the final whistle, and a side hitting the woodwork five times in a single match (including an unwanted hat-trick for Leandro Trossard).

Add to that a penalty which was awarded and (controversially) overturned and the fact stoppage time was well over by the point Neal Maupay handled the ball, and Albion have every right to feel aggrieved.

But that would be wrong emotion to feel. Twice already this season, Brighton have impressed against two top six contenders in Chelsea and United and not got the points their performances deserve.

Head coach Graham Potter admitted the United result was “cruel” but, in typical fashion, said his team will need to “try and be philosophical and have to understand how good we played.”

Once again, the xG (a metric effectively measuring the quality of a shot and whether it would be harder to score than not) favoured Albion by 3.03 goals to United’s 1.91.

However, what do Reece James, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes have in common this season? All of them have forced goals which were conceded by Albion within minutes of scoring themselves.

It begs the question of whether the team is not switching back on quick enough after the euphoria of hitting the net. It’s something which Potter hinted at being a problem in his assessment of the game on Saturday afternoon.

Potter spoke about United’s equaliser to make the match 1-1, now officially a Lewis Dunk own goal, which came moments after Maupay had scored penalty: “The first goal was too cheap when you look at the first half and how much we dominated the game. We’ll always look to ourselves as to how we can improve.”

He was right to say that the performance was “amazing” and one to “be proud of”, but Albion must learn to shut up shop and consolidate when they get the goal they deserve.

"It might be a concentration thing, or it may come down to defensive maturity in such a young side. Cut that out, and Albion will not lose too many games.

Trossard starting to excel

Whatever Leandro Trossard’s been doing since lockdown, he needs to keep to doing it. Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Belgium international was frustratingly inconsistent, often looking a better option off the bench.

In three Premier League games this season he’s already scored once, made one assist, created two big chances and hit the woodwork four times.

Trossard is increasingly becoming the key cog in Albion’s attack which will become even stronger if he can build on his partnerships with Neal Maupay and Aaron Connolly.

Selection dilemmas for Potter

Wednesday night offers the perfect opportunity for redemption, when Manchester United visit once again but in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Both sides are likely to make plenty of changes for the tie, but Albion’s current first-team will surely be determined to put things right following what they may feel was an injustice on Saturday.

Does Potter stay faithful to the deputies who have got the club this far in the competition, or bring in some of his regular starters? It’s a great problem to have.

Football, the Albion and Me is a podcast which interviews Brighton & Hove Albion favourites from across the decades. All designed to be largely non-time specific, guests, which have included Mark Lawrenson, Matthew Upson, Ashley Barnes, Nathan Jones, Brian Horton, Peter Ward and Terry Connor, discuss key moments from their football career and name a 5-a-side team made up of the best players they’ve played with.

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