How Brighton and one particular player became a huge problem for Man Utd

A fan of pretty much every team in the world would have an answer if you asked them: 'Who's your bogey side?'.

Right now for Manchester United, though it may feel like there are lots of them, it's certainly Brighton. The Seagulls seems to improve year on year while the progress Man Utd have made under Erik ten Hag is debatable for many supporters.

Here is a bit of background on how Brighton have become Man Utd's bogey team in the Premier League and how one player in particular has been terrorising the Red Devils in their own backyard.

Brighton's recent H2H record vs Manchester United

It should be said that the historical head-to-head record for Brighton and Man Utd is very different to the sample that has recently come under the microscope. United have 19 wins to Brighton's seven with five draws.

Right now, though, Brighton have won four of the last five matches against Man Utd. The one United avoided defeat in of those five was a penalty shoot-out in the FA Cup semi-final, hardly a comprehensive victory.

Brighton won back-to-back games against United across the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons, but they were followed by seven consecutive wins for Man Utd. Then, it went downhill for the Red Devils.

Brighton 4-0 Manchester United - Premier League (7 May 2022)

Brighton's winning run started with a game late in the 2021/22 season in the final days of Ralf Rangnick's time in charge. It was a disaster for United as Brighton won 4-0 at the AMEX, with Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard scoring.

Manchester United 1-2 Brighton - Premier League (7 August 2022)

The first match of the Erik ten Hag era on the opening weekend of the 2022/23 Premier League had spirits high at Old Trafford as Brighton visited. However, the mood soon turned sour and a certain someone who we'll get to later scored twice to give Brighton a 2-0 lead at half time.

An Alexis Mac Allister own goal got United back into the game but there was little sign that a point or three was on the way for Ten Hag.

Brighton 1-0 Manchester United - Premier League (4 May 2023)

The second league meeting between the two sides was both more and less heart-breaking for United fans. More so in the sense that they lost after a 94th-minute penalty from Mac Allister, but it was a result that ended up having little bearing on the season as United still finished in the top four.

Manchester United 1-3 Brighton - Premier League (16 September 2023)

That takes us to the most recent instalment of this sorry state of affairs for United in which Danny Welbeck gave Brighton the lead despite Ten Hag's side starting the Game quite well. However, as has become tradition for United in recent years, they then capitulated and it was soon 3-0.

Hannibal Mejbri scored a superb goal from distance late on but it was merely a consolation.

Pascal Gross's scoring record vs Manchester United

The historical head-to-head record above shows this is more of a recent issue for Man Utd rather than some decade-long problem.

That being said, the top scorer in the history of this fixture is Pascal Gross. Not only that, he has almost double the goals of the next-highest scorer.

The German has scored seven times against Manchester United, with the next highest scorer being Bruno Fernandes with four goals against Brighton. Gross scored in the most recent win for Brighton and seems to have a very jolly time in every Game he plays against the Red Devils.

The team Gross has scored against most after United is West Ham with only four goals. He isn't a prolific goalscorer as that's not his main job, but he certainly is when he faces Manchester United.

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