Why Brighton defeated Manchester United – Ten Hag

Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag was left fuming after his team was struck down by last gasp intervention on Thursday night.

Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister slammed home from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of added time after Luke Shaw’s inexplicable handball was punished following Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervention.

The 1-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium dented United’s top-four aspirations, leaving them only four points above fifth-placed Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand.

In a post-match interview, Ten Hag said: “I think in the first minute that we created a great chance, but we didn’t score. So we have to be more clinical on our chances we produce in the first half and then in the attack, we concede then and we give away a big chance.

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“And also in the end, we gave away a goal and that can’t happen, must not happen. It may be a little bit [lack of] focus, but we were also a bit unlucky because it was never a free-kick where the corner is coming from. So yeah, and then you can’t bounce back anymore. But that is what we have to do on Sunday.

“My anger is about the free-kick before, because it was never a free-kick [against Shaw on Enciso] and there were so many bad tackles tonight where there was not a whistle. But that is nothing. It’s a fair block and that’s a whistle.

“I’ve seen that it is handball and maybe he is out of balance. Maybe he got a push from the back, but I can’t see because there are so many players in (the way).”

While being optimistic that his side can bounce back from the defeat and finish the season strong, he said: “The last five games, we had four wins, one draw. We were on a good run, we are improving. But we still have a way to go. We have to stay focused. We have everything in our hands, and we have to bounce back. We have to take the lessons from tonight and then we move on and we go to West Ham. Then we have to bounce back.”