"We have to show, for 90 minutes, our nice face. In the last few games we have seen two different faces - like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. We have to show the Dr Jekyll face today."
Recognised by Ralf Rangnick, Manchester United had very much been putting the meaning within the cliche 'a game of two halves' in recent matches. They had been flying out of the blocks, but had stumbled on each occasion that a lead was taken. There had been a recurring pattern reminiscent of Dr Jekyll's transformation into Mr Hyde.
If it was to be such a two-sided showing from United on Tuesday night, as Brighton & Hove Albion ventured to Old Trafford, it was early proved that there would have to be a reversal of the narrative. Instead of flying, United rather stumbled out of the blocks. Mr Hyde seemed there to stay from the dispiriting climax of proceedings against Southampton three days prior.
Brighton were on the front foot from minute one, holding more possession and causing a number of problems for the United defence to deal with. The back line had already suffered from the pre-match loss of Raphael Varane due to stomach pains, with Victor Lindelof taking his place in the starting side at short notice.
All of the action was in the United half from the outset, with the hosts unable to push out having been pinned back by Graham Potter's men. Brighton were almost invited to attack David de Gea's goal, with porosity within United's defensive structure culminating in openings for the visiting side to exploit.
Although United had been the more careless of the two sides, United came the closest to taking the lead in the early exchanges. Adam Webster took a loose first touch, with the mishap picked off by Cristiano Ronaldo, backheeling to the supporting Jadon Sancho to ultimately squander the chance as his finish lacked conviction. It didn't take long for United to further exude their wasteful nature. A big chance had gone begging after merely seven minutes.
The opportunity for Sancho was significantly against the run of play, with Brighton's balance, structure and discipline putting United to shame. The away side's use of possession was superior, with chances coming to boot as they asserted their authority. United's incoherent, loose, error-strewn nature saw them often caught out, with Brighton's poise contributing to their dominance.
There was an option for United to unleash counter attacks at times but, unlike in the first half against Southampton, they lacked the assurance to ever execute. Almost all of the chances were going Brighton's way, who were almost straightforwardly dominating due to an affordance of a mass of time on the ball. United were hardly making a game of it; aside from the one gifted opportunity, there was nothing for the home contingent to write home about. Old Trafford was on edge, agitated.
There were no signs of a United press, with the intensity sub-par as positivity shown at times in matches previously diminished. Rangnick's principles were out of the window as United continually lost their battles with a whimper and failed to gain control. In fact, the interim manager indicated a switch to 4-2-3-1 midway through the half - reverting to type. It is a system unfavoured by Rangnick, but something that offered a sense of comfort and belief to a struggling side. As much as it may be unsustainable to move forward with such approach, something had to be done to suit the players, who had often been looking lost in alternative setups.
Still, everything United did remained scruffy, lifeless and done in half-hearted vain. There were masses of possessional turnovers, with a lack of incision costing creation and leading to a distinct absence of attempts on goal. Fred even managed to misplace a pass aimed at Ronaldo, only reaching a defender a matter of yards away.
If it wasn't for a spectacular save from De Gea after a Jakub Moder header, United would have been behind and in a tough position heading towards the break; there was no difficulty for Brighton when it came to delivering the ball, whilst those in the box were unchallenged.
Having overseen their side inviting such pressure for the majority of the opening half, the "attack, attack, attack" chants were brandished even before the break. In a way, United were so passive in nature that they could have been mistaken for the away side. They were second best - and by some margin.
The home side barely broke the 40% possession mark in the opening 45 minutes, managing only three shots to Brighton's eight. Meanwhile, no player in red managed to make a tackle throughout the entire half.
Shift forward to the fifth minute of the second half - it was a totally different picture. Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes both converged on Yves Bissouma, displaying a functioning pressing trap for the former to win the ball back inside Brighton's defensive third. Ronaldo was positioned opportunely to pick up the loose ball, surged into space, skipped past a challenge and fired past a rooted Robert Sanchez.
It was a reversal. Dr Jekyll had come out to play. Ronaldo's goal drought was over too. By scoring his first goal in 2022 after six games wayward of the scoresheet, United's number seven ensured he had scored in 21 consecutive calendar years.
Talking of reversal, the roles of the two teams were reversed. Brighton were in decline as United upped their energy levels. Anthony Elanga - starting in place of Marcus Rashford - epitomised this endeavour to capitalise on some casual play on the ball from Lewis Dunk, with the United man dispossessing the Brighton defender and finding himself taken down with a plethora of green space ahead of him. What was initially ruled a yellow card was overturned to a red. The game had been flipped on its head.
It was the perfect scenario for United. Having recently faltered at a goal-up, it was a dream opportunity for United to kill a game and reinstall belief in that respect. As Brighton withdrew an attacker to maintain stability, United were able to take charge.
Fernandes and Ronaldo started to come to the fore and take centre stage, with the pair combining to each miss a considerable opportunities. The former twice played pinpoint crosses onto the head of the latter, with one saved and another misplaced. Meanwhile, a giveaway from Sanchez was pounced on by Ronaldo to square to Fernandes, also falling foul to a save.
The creation was there again, whilst the execution was not. The match should have been done and dusted for United but, as it was, despite the man disadvantage, Brighton were able to assert some form of a foothold. United were nearly made to pay for wastefulness once more, with Moder rattling the bar after a speculative effort from range.
Rangnick's substitutions again begged questions. Paul Pogba, who was rested after three consecutive starts following a long-term injury, replacing Fred was a positive alteration, as was Marcus Rashford's later introduction in place of Elanga. However, Alex Telles replacing Sancho was strange given Luke Shaw was on a yellow card, with a back five system applied despite the man advantage. The mentality should have been different to one of such caution.
Shots, regardless of the changes, did come aplenty for United still. Sanchez was busy but equal to United's efforts, with a similar story unfolding to previous matches. United exploited Brighton's depleted numbers to an extent, yet were often speculative in their attempts as panic took some charge again.
Rangnick's team did more than dominate possession for the most-part, but Brighton remained defensively firm, biding their time and occasionally able to break out in phases as United took a more passive stance with the back five. There still seemed a lack of intent and belief from United one goal to the good against 10 men, with Danny Welbeck heading narrowly over towards the closing stages.
A collective sigh of relief was sounded around Old Trafford with the final kick of the game, with Pogba alert to unleash Fernandes on the counter attack with a quick freekick. With Brighton bodies committed forward, United found themselves with a two-on-one. Rather than utilising Ronaldo's support, Fernandes dummied a ball across, leaving Sanchez floored and a gap open to finish. Fernandes was certainly involved in the sigh of relief, scoring for the first time since mid-January.
The manner in which the half panned out did lead to a reappearance of the narrative that United were ahead due to a single moment. However, it was enough on the day; winning the game was the paramount focus, and that was achieved. In the current patch of form, you can get away with reliance on your world class players to produce instances of brilliance.
On the whole, though, positive glimpses within the performance were sporadic at best. Where there had been sustained phases of evident progress in recent matches, only brief passages provided any marker of such development. There was still a disconcerting replication of patterns such as missing chances, wasting possession and sitting off at times. The performance was scruffy, but the three points, again, will provide a confidence builder - especially given the scoring of a second goal.
De Gea was again largely to thank for the outcome, with his first half denial of Moder crucial to the outcome. Given the lethargy of United's demeanour, it seemed it would have been a tough task for them to recover any first half deficit. De Gea himself hailed it as a "big save" en route to keeping a clean sheet.
Although the second half was equivalently as unideal as the first in aspects, there was clear correlation between United's winning of nine tackles after the juncture in comparison to their first half blank. Aside from the completion of 10 second half tackles against Burnley at Turf Moor, it was United's most productive final 45 minutes of the Premier League season in that respect.
Regardless of the performance, it was a big three points for United in the race for a top four finish.
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