Brighton and Hove Albion FC’s Alexis Mac Allister made no mistake to smash home from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of added time to hand the Seagulls a dramatic 1-0 win over Manchester United at the Amex Stadium on Thursday night.
Luke Shaw gifted Brighton a penalty in the last minutes of the match after a careless handball which was awarded following a VAR check.
The defeat dented United’s top-four hopes, leaving them only four points ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool, despite having a game in hand.
It was a case of sweet revenge for the hosts who lost to United on penalties in last month’s FA Cup semi-final.
However, United boss, Erik Ten Hag expressed his disappointment and singled out the team’s problem.
“We have to be more clinical on the chances we produced in the first half. In the end, we gave away a goal and that can’t happen.” he said.
Erik Ten Hag not angry with Luke Shaw
Ten Hag also defended Shaw for gifting Brighton the penalty in the last minute.
“It is handball, maybe he is out of balance or maybe got a push in the back. My anger is more about the free kick before the corner, it was never a free kick. There were so many bad tackles tonight claimed Erik Ten Hag.
He added: “It is not about the officials, we have to finish the chances, be more clinical….. And don’t make the mistakes we did like in the last seconds.”
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Meanwhile, Shaw described his mistake as “silly” and expressed regret for costing the team.
“I can’t even explain why my hand is up there. I got a nudge, maybe that helps with my hand going up but it shouldn’t be there. Hands up, a silly mistake that cost us a point.
With United on 63 points with a game in hand while an in-form Liverpool is at 59, the Red Devils know more dropped points might hamper their objectives come the end of the season.
