Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Alexis MacAllister scored from the penalty kick spot deep into stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 win for his side over Manchester United on Thursday.
The defeat leaves Erik ten Hag’s side in fourth place on 63 points, four ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool but with a game in hand over their Merseyside rivals.
Brighton meanwhile move up to sixth on 55 points.
The victory was some measure of revenge for Brighton, who lost to Manchester United on penalty kicks in their 2022/2023 English FA Cup semi-final meeting 11 days ago.
The home side dominated possession and could have gone ahead as early as the fourth minute.
This was after Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma snapped up a loose pass from Victor Lindelof, but he fired his shot straight into the face of David De Gea.
Mitoma was a threat throughout, creating several chances for himself.
He teed up Danny Welbeck to fire high and wide from the edge of the penalty box early in the second half as Manchester United struggled to pass the ball out of defence.
After a first half booking, Manchester United midfielder Casemiro was lucky not to pick up another booking after hacking down MacAllister on the edge of the box in the second half.
Tempers flared in the 68th minute as Manchester United winger Antony, angry at not being awarded a free-kick, was penalised for a tackle on MacAllister.
He got into a confrontation with Lewis Dunk which earned both players a yellow card.
Brighton continued to press forward looking for a winner, with substitute Solly March and MacAllister both forcing superb saves from De Gea as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes.
Manchester United looked set to secure a draw, but there was late drama when defender Luke Shaw was found to have handled the ball in the penalty box.
This was after a VAR review, and MacAllister blasted home the penalty kick nine minutes into stoppage time to secure the win.
“Really happy and delighted for the performance and result,” Brighton coach Roberto de Zerbi told reporters.
“There is a God of football —- we deserved to win the (FA Cup) semi-final but lost on penalty kicks, but today we won with a penalty kick.”
Shaw took responsilibity for his mistake, calling it a “silly error that cost us a point”.
But he said his side were still on course to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
“Teams around us are picking up points, (but) we still have a game in hand and it is in our hands,” he told reporters.
Reuters
