Brighton 0-3 Man Utd Player Ratings: Mata Masterclass & James Upset Populate Red Devil’s Progress

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrates with Daniel James.

REUTERS/Andrew Yates

Premier League drama did not make an appearance in the Carabao Cup when Man Utd defeated Brighton 3-0 at the Amex Stadium. The traveling side had goals from Scott McTominay, Juan Mata, and Paul Pogba to thank for their progression.

Here’s how the Red Devils fared on the night:

Dean Henderson – 8.0

Another cleansheet and another excellent display from the youngster. His save will certainly give Leandro Trossard nightmares about ever scoring against United.

Diogo Dalot – 6.9

Did not get involved much and was prone to errors. Could have scored late into the game.

Eric Bailly – 8.0

Phenomenal stuff from the centre-back. Certainly made an argument for starting ahead of Victor Lindelof in the Premier League.

Victor Lindelof – 7.5

Could have been better but held his calm quite well.

Brandon Williams – 7.7

Prone to errors but was scrappy and quick on the flank.

Scott McTominay – 8.2

A goal to his name and excellent performance to boot. Certainly making an argument to be included in the rotation more often.

Fred – 7.9

Made a couple of errors but was otherwise solid in his performance. Needs to contribute more if he wants to make a serious attempt to be included in the starting lineup.

Juan Mata – 8.8

Easy man of the match. Excellent free-kick assist to McTominay’s opener and showed great presence of mind in netting his 50th goal for Manchester United.

Donny van de Beek – 8.5

Great backheel assist for Mata’s goal and showed impressive positioning and midfield intelligence throughout the game.

Daniel James – 6.6

A mute presence who seldom made his impact known from the less familiar left-flank.

Odion Ighalo – 7.7

Ought to have scored on a couple of occasions and did hit the woodwork. Needs to put in more of an effort.

Substitutes

Paul Pogba – 8.0

Perfect substitute performance. While his free-kick goal did need the assistance of the Brighton wall, he’d be happy to open his account for the season this early.

Marcus Rashford – 7.0

Did not make that big of an impact apart from providing the much-needed pace.

Jesse Lingard – 6.8

Was impressive in his running and could have assisted an easy goal for Rashford had he not been selfish.