Danny Welbeck and James Milner break Premier League records after helping Brighton & Hove Albion claim an impressive 3-1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Danny Welbeck and James Milner have broken Premier League records after helping Brighton & Hove Albion claim an impressive 3-1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Welbeck returned to Roberto De Zerbi‘s starting lineup after missing the 3-1 win against Newcastle United before the international break due to a minor injury, and he certainly made his mark against his former club.
Indeed, the 32-year-old striker opened the scoring in the 20th minute when he slammed the ball home from close range after getting onto the end of a cross from the right provided by Premier League debutant Simon Adingra.
Welbeck has enjoyed playing against Man United since leaving the club in 2014, scoring five goals in 10 starts in all competitions across spells with both Brighton and Arsenal, including four strikes in the Premier League.
The Englishman’s latest strike at Old Trafford has seen him become the first-ever player to score at least four Premier League goals against Man United having previously played for the club in the competition.
Pascal Gross added a second for Brighton eight minutes after half time, scoring his seventh goal against Man United and his fourth at Old Trafford in the Premier League – only Steven Gerrard and Mohamed Salah (five each) have scored more goals at the Theatre of Dreams as a visiting player.
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Substitute Joao Pedro replaced Welbeck just after the hour mark and scored Brighton’s third just seven minutes after coming off the bench, before Hannibal Mejbri pulled one back for Man United.
However, that strike proved inconsequential as De Zerbi’s side cruised to their fourth successive victory against Man United as well as their fourth win of the new season; the Seagulls have also brought United’s 31-game unbeaten home run to an end.
As De Zerbi looked to shore things up at the back and bring on some fresh legs towards the end of the contest, the Italian boss turned to evergreen utility man Milner to play at full-back for the final 15 minutes or so.
The 37-year-old summer signing has now played 35 times against Man United in the Premier League and has come away victorious on 11 of those occasions, more than any other player in the division’s history.
Milner has now also won six times at Old Trafford, a joint-record, and he has become the first player to win away against Man United with four different Premier League teams, doing so with Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Brighton have climb into the top four of the Premier League, boasting 12 points from their first five games, and they have moved six points clear of Man United who are languishing in 12th place.
The Seagulls will now turn their attention to their first-ever Europa League group-stage game against AEK Athens next Thursday, before returning to Premier League action at home to Bournemouth next Sunday.
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