Manchester United slumped to a disappointing 2-1 loss at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion as the club exited the FA Cup at the first stage, but one ex-Man Utd star’s performance stood out to Phil Jones.
Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup at the third-round stage on Sunday afternoon, falling to a 2–1 defeat against Brighton at Old Trafford.
Brighton began brightly and took an early lead when Brajan Gruda was quickest to react after Lisandro Martínez had initially cleared the ball off the line. The visitors maintained their intensity and nearly doubled their advantage soon after, though Danny Welbeck was unable to take advantage of a poor pass from Senne Lammens.
United had opportunities to respond before the interval, with Diogo Dalot and Benjamin Šeško both going close, but they headed into half-time trailing by a single goal. Brighton tightened their control after the restart and made it 2–0 midway through the second half, Welbeck finishing clinically with 25 minutes remaining.
A late surge from United gave them hope when Šeško pulled a goal back, yet Brighton stood firm in the closing stages. Any realistic chance of a comeback ended when substitute Shea Lacey was shown a second yellow card late on, allowing the visitors to see out the victory and advance to the next round.
Phil Jones impressed by Danny Welbeck’s performance
Darren Fletcher’s Old Trafford managerial debut was ultimately ruined by one of his former team-mates, Welbeck, who once again came back to haunt his former club, scoring his ninth goal past his former club.
In the 64th minute, Welbeck rocketed a strike into the top-left corner past Lammens, who had no chance to put his side 2-0 up on the afternoon.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Phil Jones singled out the Brighton striker, saying, “Today he was incredible. The way he handles himself, the way he carries himself, the way he lives his life right and dedicates himself to football.
“He epitomises that for any young kid watching, the way he goes about his work.”
Jones insists Man Utd would take Welbeck back “in a heartbeat”
Welbeck, who grew up less than five miles away from Old Trafford, was tipped by Sir Alex Ferguson to be a future star at the club and was part of the legendary manager’s last Premier League-winning campaign in the 2012-13 season.
Despite this, the 35-year-old struggled to establish himself in the Manchester United side in the post-Ferguson era and was ultimately sold to Arsenal in 2014.
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Jones reflected on Welbeck leaving the club, saying that the club would take him back at Manchester United right now.
“I remember Welbz when he first joined United, and he was a terrific talent then. Should he have left Old Trafford? I think a lot of fans were sad to see him leave. You look no,w and I think they’d take him back in a heartbeat.”
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