Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon to make it seven wins from seven under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford both bagged their fifth league goals since Solskjaer arrived a month ago to put the Red Devils in control at the break.
Brighton were offered a route back into the match 18 minutes from time when Pascal Gross found a way through, but the hosts saw out a nervy conclusion to the match to move up to fifth place in the Premier League.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford. The feel-good factor has returned at United over the past month since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho, having won six matches out of six - five of those in the top flight - to give themselves some much-needed momentum.
United are now just about back in top-four contention, trailing Chelsea by six points ahead of today's busy schedule. The good news for Solskjaer's men is that the two sides directly above them, the Blues and Arsenal, lock horns at the Emirates Stadium in the late kickoff. Brighton have a little less to fight for on the face of it, finding themselves five points off the top half and eight above the dropzone.
MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: De Gea; Young, Lindelof, Jones, Shaw; Matic, Herrera; Lingard, Pogba, Martial; Rashford
SUBS: Romero, Bailly, Sanchez, Mata, Lukaku, Pereira, Dalot
Starting with a look at the home team, Solskjaer has named an unchanged starting lineup from the 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. The only changes in the matchday squad come on the bench, where Alexis Sanchez has recovered from an ankle injury sustained against Reading to join Eric Bailly, back from suspension, in the matchday squad. Scott McTominay and Fred are the players to make way.
Solskjaer has decided to stick with a winning formula, then, meaning that Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard will operate in attacking midfield, providing support for in-form striker Marcus Rashford. The England international has thrived since being used through the middle regularly, scoring in four of United's five league matches under interim boss Solskjaer.
Bailly is unable to force his way back into the starting lineup, so Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof will continue to operate at centre-back, while Luke Shaw and Ashley Young are used at full-back. David de Gea is very much the man of the moment following his truly incredible display at Wembley Stadium last weekend, and he is going in search of a third successive Premier League clean sheet today. Elsewhere, Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling are all out injured.
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Button; Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bong; March, Stephens, Propper, Gross, Locadia; Murray
SUBS: Steele, Bruno, Kayal, Andone, Knockaert, Balogun, Gyokeres
Switching focus to the visiting side, Brighton are also unchanged from their most recent outing - a 1-0 home loss to league leaders Liverpool. Chris Hughton has altered formation of late, going with five across midfield to good effect, meaning that Pascal Gross, Dale Stephens and Davy Propper all start in the centre of the park today, with Solly March and Jurgen Locadia in the wide areas.
This is a fixture that Gross has grown to love since joining Brighton ahead of last season, having netted in back-to-back league matches against the Red Devils. The German midfielder is one to watch here, then, being deployed in a slightly deeper position than he was previously accustomed to, but one that he says he is more than happy to play if it helps the side.
Hughton keeps faith in Glenn Murray, despite the striker's scoreless run spanning seven matches in the Premier League - his longest streak without a goal in the competition since joining Brighton. Florin Andone has been used eight times from the bench in the top flight this season, including against Liverpool last weekend, and he is again expected to play some part at Old Trafford. There is no Yves Bissouma, Bernardo or Jose Izquierdo for Albion today because of injuries.
Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion both name unchanged starting lineups from their most recent Premier League outings - a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur for United and a 1-0 loss to Liverpool for Brighton. Alexis Sanchez and Eric Bailly are back on the bench for the Red Devils today following injury and suspension respectively.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Manchester United have never lost at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, winning eight and drawing two of those previous matches, including victories in each of their last four meetings at Old Trafford without conceding a goal. The Seagulls have won the last two encounters between the sides overall, however, coming out on top 1-0 at the Amex Stadium last May and 3-2 in August.
The visitors certainly have what it takes to get the better of United, then, and victory today will make them the first side to win three in a row against the Red Devils since Swansea City in 2015. Defeat for Solskjaer's men today really would be a surprise, though, as they are a far better side now compared to last May and August when under the management of Mourinho. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
United have won six matches in a row under Solskjaer, most recently beating Tottenham 1-0 at Wembley through Rashford's strike right at the end of the first half. Some will say that the Red Devils were fortunate to return from the capital with all three points, having relied on De Gea to produce save after save after save, but the role of the goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the net - it was hardly good fortune, in the same way that Rashford is paid to stick the ball in the other net.
The Red Devils scored 14 goals in seeing off Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth and Newcastle United, as well as comfortably overcoming Reading in the third round of the FA Cup. It is the 1-0 win at Wembley that has got rival clubs sitting up and taking notice, however, with Solskjaer passing his first major test as United's interim boss. It is fair to say that the mood around Old Trafford has completely changed under the iconic striker.
United's critics will point out that they have climbed no higher than sixth place, despite their superb run of form under Solskjaer. A closer look at the table shows that they have closed the gap on the top four, though, and they can move to within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea with victory today in this winnable fixture. Arsenal, meanwhile, are above the Red Devils on goal difference alone, so there is plenty to play for in that battle for a Champions League berth.
Solskjaer insisted at his pre-match press conference that his side are not giving up on finishing third, in fact, with Tottenham only seven points better off following last week's clash at Wembley. The margin is certainly not insurmountable with 16 games to go, but United have to keep this winning run going if they are to have a chance of overhauling two of Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea.
League leaders Liverpool are the only side that can match United for form over the past six matches, and the Red Devils will be confident of keeping their winning streak going for a little while longer. Following this visit of bottom-half Brighton, Solskjaer's in-form side take on Burnley, Leicester City and Fulham up to the early stages of March, though there is also an FA Cup trip to Arsenal and a Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain to factor in.
That blockbuster last-16 clash with PSG is now on the horizon, and the Arsenal cup tie should also live up to its billing next weekend, though for now all focus is on the Premier League. Solskjaer's immediate aim is to finish in fourth place to ensure that Champions League football will be played at Old Trafford next season, which will go a long way to strengthening his cause to land the job on a permanent basis.
DID YOU KNOW? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is aiming to win his sixth straight Premier League match today, equalling the longest run in the competition's history for a manager from the beginning of their reign. The record is currently jointly-held by Carlo Ancelotti for Chelsea in 2009 and Pep Guardiola for Manchester City in 2016.
Many will fancy United to continue their scoring run today by bagging three or more, which would make it the first time they have achieved that in four consecutive home matches since September 2011. The Red Devils have also kept a clean sheet in back-to-back league games - as many as they managed in their first 20 outings - and they have kept out the opposition in three straight matches when taking the Reading cup tie into account.
De Gea received plenty of plaudits for his display at Tottenham last week - rightly so, having made 11 saves in the second half alone - but pretty much every United player has improved under Solskjaer. Rashford, making his 150th appearance for the club today, now has five goals and five assists in his last nine matches, while Pogba has four goals and four assists since Solskjaer took charge, contributing to 53% of their 15 league goals.
Brighton really do have their work cut out if they are to return to the south coast with a share of the spoils, but they have proved to be a tough team to beat of late. Hughton, who says that he is happy for his side to go under the radar this term, saw his team's five-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end last weekend with a slender 1-0 loss to Liverpool. Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the second half.
Albion are currently 13th in the Premier League, closer to the top half than they are to the relegation zone, though all it takes is a couple of defeats and all of a sudden they may find themselves in a scrap to avoid the drop. That does not look likely to be the case, however, with the Seagulls constantly doing enough to keep themselves well afloat of the dropzone. That said, one win in seven league matches is not the best return.
Since beat Huddersfield and Crystal Palace in early December to move into the top half of the division, two points off sixth place and a point adrift of today's opponents. Since then, however, they have lost to Burnley, Chelsea, Bournemouth and Liverpool, while taking five points from Arsenal, Everton and West Ham United to leave themselves 14 points behind United in sixth.
Brighton very nearly took a point off Liverpool last weekend, though, and they also frustrated Arsenal at the Amex Stadium in a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day. It is a different story away from home, however, as they have lost a Premier League-high 19 matches on their travels since the start of last season. Hughton, meanwhile, has lost all five of his away matches as a manager against United by an aggregate scoreline of 14-0.
With kickoff at Old Trafford now a little under 10 minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: "As I've said before, you go into every single game as a Man United coach, player or manager thinking you'll win the next one - that's just the nature of this club. We've had six good games but the next one is the most important one."
Chris Hughton: "I don't think just anybody could have gone in and had the record that [Solskjaer] has now. I think you have to give him credit for that. They haven't lost for six games. Any manager coming in after Mourinho, I don't think they could have expected any more because the results and the performances indicate that."
Solskjaer admits that picking up all three points is the target in every game for United, and that will clearly be the case in today's meeting with mid-table Brighton. The Norwegian has picked up six wins from six so far and will now be looking to stretch than victorious streak into next weekend's huge FA Cup fourth-round clash with Arsenal. Should he achieve that, the Red Devils will be hot on the heels of Chelsea in fourth place.
Hughton was full of praise for Solskjaer at his pre-match press conference, insisting that not many others could have achieved what his opposite number has in his short stint at Old Trafford. Albion came out on top when the sides met in the reverse fixture, inflicting a first defeat of the season on Mourinho's men, but United are a different beast entirely now and are strong favourites today.
The two sides are out on the field and we are moments away from kick off. A reminder that Man United and Brighton have stuck with the same starting lineups from their 1-0 win over Tottenham and 1-0 defeat to Liverpool respectively. The Red Devils can climb above Arsenal into fifth place with a point today, though all three will of course be the target, while the Seagulls cane soar as high as 12th with a victory.
KICKOFF: We are up and running at Old Trafford! There has been a late change to Man United's starting lineup - Shaw has been taken ill and is replaced by Dalot, presumably meaning that Young will shift across to the opposite flank.
Young, being used down the right, gets forward and crosses the ball towards Martial. The Frenchman looked as though he was going to get on the end of it, but some good defending from Dunk prevented him from doing so.
United win a free kick in a promising position around 25 yards from goal. Pogba takes it but can only pick out the top of the wall and Brighton clear their lines. This has been a positive start from the home side, as you would expect.
The hosts are completely dominating possession in the early stages. Brighton have defended well enough, clearing away each ball that has come into the middle. United are having to remain patient in search of a breakthrough goal.
SAVE! They have spent the best part of 10 minutes having to defend, but the first shot on target comes from a Brighton player. Locadia is picked out by March and gets away a shot that is easily dealt with by De Gea. The Spaniard will surely have a quieter afternoon compared to last week at Wembley!
CHANCE! A big chance for Pogba to open the scoring for United goes begging. The Frenchman had a big part of the goal to aim for, but he got under the ball and sent it high and wide of the target from just outside the box. United are knocking on the door.
CLOSE! It has been a lively start to the match at Old Trafford, with Lindelof climbing above Propper to head Young's corner wide of the far post. The home fans are urging their side on, no doubt keen to see another few goals scored today.
Duffy peels away from his man at the back post and gets on the end of Gross's corner, but De Gea gets two hands to it - not sure if that was even on target. Credit to Brighton - the visitors are getting in attempts of their own, even if they have been starved of possession.
Speaking of the possession count, United have had 74% of the ball in the opening 17 minutes. Brighton's best route to goal is seemingly through a set-piece. A scare for the home side as the ball breaks for Murray, but he is flagged for offside.
The tempo of the match has dropped but United are still the side dictating play. Martial tries to pick out Lingard on the edge of the box, but his attempted pass is cut out by Duffy. From the next attacking move, Matic's pass is blocked.
OFF THE LINE! Murray catches Matic when jumping for an aerial ball and is given a talking to by the referee. United are starting to build some momentum again now, with Young's cutback being turned goalwards by Rashford, only for Duffy to block it right in front of goal.
SHOT! United have really stepped things up over the last couple of minutes. A ball into the Brighton box is not properly dealt with and Pogba attempt an audacious over-head kicked, which is blocked and goes behind for a corner kick, from which Rashford curls the ball wide after it is worked short.
Rashford has twice come close to a breakthrough goal and Pogba also had half a chance in the past five minutes, but Brighton have held firm so far. Just another 65 minutes for the visitors to see through!
PENALTY! Pogba brings down the ball to the right of the box and drives past Bong. The full-back and March sandwiched Pogba and referee Paul Tierney has pointed to the penalty spot...
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (PAUL POGBA, PEN)
Pogba had plenty of time to think about where he was going to stick this penalty as Propper needed some treatment before he could take it. The Frenchman tucks it just out of Button's reach following his now-trademark stuttered run-up.
That is now five goals and four assists for Pogba since Solskjaer took charge a month ago. United deserve that breakthrough goal and now they will look to push on and potentially add another couple to their tally in the remaining hour.
Brighton have enjoyed their best spell of the match since Pogba edged United in front from the penalty spot. The ball has entered the opposition box a couple of times but the visitors are struggling to really create any clear-cut chances.
SAVE! United have taken their foot off the gas over the last five minutes, but they could easily have had a second goal. Martial is played in behind by Lindelof and controls the ball well, only for Button to keep out his flicked shot.
CHANCE! Chances at both end of the field now as Murray fires wide from a good position. March flicked the ball over the top and Murray, kept onside by Young, lashed the half-volley wide of De Gea's left-hand post. He had to test De Gea from there!
United may have squandered a good chance through Martial, but Brighton created just as good a chance for Murray. This match is far from over as we approach the final five minutes of an entertaining first half.
Matic gets his head to a corner at the back post to deny Duffy a simple finish. Albion are giving their all at the end of the half in search of a leveller - can United see out the next four minutes to take a lead into the interval?
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (MARCUS RASHFORD)
A superb finish from Rashford - his fifth goal in six games under Solskjaer - gives Man United some breathing space. Dalot charges down the left and slots it through for Rashford, who has plenty of work to do from an acute angle. The Englishman evades his marker and curls the ball into the top-right corner of Button's goal.
United are playing some nice football now after holding off Brighton and adding a second goal to their tally. There has been a few stoppages in the first half so three minutes have been added on at the end, the first of which has been played.
HALF TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION
Man United take a two-goal lead into half time thanks to Pogba's pen and Rashford's impressive finish. Brighton had a couple of lively moments, with Murray wasting a good opportunity at 1-0, but as it is the Red Devils' winning run looks set to stretch to a seventh match.
After spending the best part of 10 minutes attempting to keep their opponents at bay, the first real shot of the afternoon arrived from Brighton winger Jurgen Locadia, whose effort was easily dealt with by David de Gea. Paul Pogba guided the ball over the crossbar and Victor Lindelof glanced a corner wide of the target as United, forced into one change from their 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur, increased the tempo.
United's pressure finally started to tell as, after Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba had efforts kept out in front of goal, the latter was brought down by a mix of Solly March and Gaeten Bong in the box to win his side a penalty. Pogba stepped up and placed the ball just out of David Button's reach following his now-customary stuttered run-up.
Chances then went begging at both ends of the field as Anthony Martial was denied by Button from a one-on-one position, failing to get enough lift on his dinked finish, and Glenn Murray blasted an angled finish wide of David de Gea's goal from seven yards. That miss would prove costly for Brighton as Rashford showed some great footwork inside the box to get away from his marker and curl the ball into the far corner despite the angle being against him.
BENCH WATCH!
MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS: Romero, Bailly, Sanchez, Mata, Lukaku, Pereira, Darmian
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION SUBS: Steele, Bruno, Kayal, Andone, Knockaert, Balogun, Gyokeres
KICKOFF: Brighton get us back underway at Old Trafford, aiming to find a route back into the game following those first-half goals from Pogba and Rashford, two of the most in-form players in the Premier League.
United are pushing Brighton higher up the pitch. The Red Devils do not look as though they are willing to sit back on their two-goal lead - they will instead push for a third goal to kill off the contest for good as early as possible.
Rashford, full of confidence after netting his fifth goal under Solskjaer, takes on a free kick from 25 yards. The angle was against him - not that it stopped him in the first half! - and his shot dipped a good few yards over Button's crossbar.
Not a great deal of action in the opening seven minutes of the second half. United just need to remain professional and not allow their opponents a route back into the match. Solskjaer has the likes of Lukaku, Mata and Sanchez among his subs.
Very nearly a third goal for United. Rashford spots the run of Lingard who, despite getting between two Brighton defenders, cannot quite get a foot to the left-sided cross. The hosts cannot quite kill off the match at the moment.
A big challenge from Dunk prevents Martial from finding a way through. The Frenchman turned in the box and looked destined to score, only for the Brighton defender to snuff him out. United look as though they have another goal in them.
SHOT! Brilliant footwork from Martial and nearly a very good finish to match it. The Frenchman gets away from his man to work some space on the edge of the box, but his powerful shot edged inches wide of the target, with Button at full stretch.
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION SUBS! With an hour played at Old Trafford, Hughton makes a double change - Knockaert and Andone are on for Murray and March. Prior to that, Dunk poked the ball wide of De Gea's target - half a chance.
United are not looking under too much threat at the back. That half-chance for Dunk prior to the double change may act as a little warning, though - they cannot afford to drop off the pace too much or else Albion may find a way back into the game.
De Gea plucks Propper's delivery out of the air to kill off Brighton's latest attack. Hughton's men are the side on top at the moment, but Solskjaer will not be all that concerned. The Norwegian will surely be tempted to freshen things up shortly, though.
Lindelof flicks on Young's cross but it has a little too much pace on it for Pogba to tap in at the back post. The second half has not taken off in the same way as the first half did, with neither team looking like scoring.
United's players are a fair way short of the levels we saw in the opening 45 minutes, making it all the more surprising that Solskjaer has yet to make a change. There is now a little over 20 minutes to play - still time for Brighton to snatch a point.
SAVE! Herrera works the angle so that he can get a shot in on his right foot, but the efforts lacks power and Button has a simple save to make. It is looking increasingly likely that their two first-half goals will be enough for United.
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (PASCAL GROSS)
Brighton have a route back into the game through Gross, who now has three goals in three games against United! Propper's outside-of-the-boot cross falls nicely to Gross, who picks out the very top corner of the net. Great finish!
It is not quite game over at Old Trafford, then, with United now potentially having to hold on for the next 15 minutes. It's staggering that Solskjaer has still yet to make any changes - his side have not got going at all in the second half.
MANCHESTER UNITED SUB! Here, at long last, comes United's first change - Mata is on for Lingard. Solskjaer is clearly after more control of the ball in the closing stages, with his side protecting a one-goal lead.
Button collects the ball at the second attempt following some good play from Rashford out on the left. The Englishman is clearly not afraid to shoot from anywhere, but Button was always expected to keep out this long-range drive.
Brighton are taking the game to United, knowing that they have nothing to lose. This was not meant to be the case after Rashford put the hosts two goals in front, but full credit to Albion for refusing to give up. It could be a tense finale at Old Trafford.
SUBS! Young does well to get a toe to the ball before Locadia can set himself for the shot. Hughton makes his third and final change by bringing on Kayal for Gross, while Lukaku is on for Martial in United's second sub.
Five minutes to go at Old Trafford and United still have work to do if they are to make it seven wins from seven under Solskjaer. The hosts have not created anything pretty much all half, but Brighton have also struggled to get a hold of the ball since pulling one back.
Andone flicks Knockaert's cross goalwards, where De Gea is waiting to collect under his crossbar. De Gea then got to the ball ahead of a Brighton player after Kayal lifted the ball into the air. United are having to hold on here.
Rashford collides with Montoya and appears to have hurt his knee. After a short break in play, though, the England international is back to his feet and able to continue. There will be around five minutes of added time to come.
Pogba unleashes a shot from range, which does not trouble Button. Good play from the Frenchman to create some space for himself with a smart turn, but the finish was lacking. Four minutes have been added on, one of which has been played.
YELLOW CARD! Matic stands his ground to clear the ball away following another nearly moment for Brighton. Rashford then wiped out Montoya to earn a yellow card and concede a free kick, which will provide the visitors with another possible route to goal.
FULL TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION
Man United see out a nervy conclusion to the match to make it seven wins from seven under interim boss Solskjaer. Pogba and Rashford bagged their fifth league goals under the Norwegian to give the Red Devils a comfortable lead at half time, but Gross's strike 18 minutes from the end set up a tense finale. United saw things through, though, to move up to fifth place in the Premier League.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Old Trafford. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to follow our updates from the late kickoff in the Premier League between Chelsea and Arsenal right here. Thanks for joining!
