Brighton - Man Utd: Overcoming the pain

Losing 0-3 at Sevilla in the quarterfinals of the second leg made the "Red Devils" disillusioned with the championship in Europe. This match witnessed consecutive mistakes in the Man Utd defense. In it, David de Gea made a mistake on the first goal and conceded the third. And Harry Maguire was once again criticized with a clumsy pass, leading to the opening goal for the opponent.

Therefore, when Man Utd play the semi-final of the FA Cup against Brighton - the opponent they have failed to meet in the last two meetings, attention will be on the defence. Erik ten Hag does not have many options as his favorite central defender pair - Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane - continues to sit out through injury, and Maguire is suspended. Luke Shaw could be pulled into a central defense pairing with Victor Lindelof.

Man Utd won the League Cup this season, after beating Newcastle 2-0 in the final. Another title will be a source of encouragement for Ten Hag teachers and students in the season they played not so bad. If they win, Man Utd will rematch their city rival Man City, who easily defeated Sheffield United in the remaining semi-finals.

"I hope people see the improvement of Man Utd compared to the early days of the season. We have become a different team. No team is capable of playing at 100% all the time, but even so when you can't do that, you still have to win. We have to learn how to handle difficult moments in the game," Ten Hag said.

Farewell to Graham Potter is unlikely to have much impact on Brighton's potential. Inheriting the legacy of his colleague, Roberto De Zerbi impresses when he builds a scientific attacking play, placed on the "Zerbi ball". Brighton can be proud because they are not afraid of any opponent, including the strong teams in the Premier League.

This is the third time Brighton has reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. They beat Sheffield Wednesday to the final in 1983. In 2019, they lost to Man City, the team then won. Meanwhile, if they win, Man Utd will equal the record of 21 FA Cup finals held by Arsenal. This is the 31st time "Red Devils" have reached this round, the most in the history of the tournament.

Man Utd won 13 consecutive FA Cup semi-finals between 1976 and 2007. But they lost three of their last five, most recently against Chelsea in 2020. Man Utd and Brighton have faced each other twice in the Cup. FA and victory always belongs to the "Red Devils".

"We have to get used to the pressure of playing games like this. It's an honor, not a problem. I want Brighton to start with a positive attitude, have clear ideas and enjoy the game. If you want to improve, get better and become a big club, Brighton needs to be in these kinds of games," De Zerbi said before the match.

Besides Maguire, Martinez and Varane, Man Utd does not have the services of Phil Jones, Alejandro Garnacho, Donny van de Beek, Tom Heaton while Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay's ability to play is unclear. Brighton also lost at least five players, including: Adam Lallana, Jeremey Sarmiento, Evan Ferguson, Joel Veltman and Tariq Lamptey, while Jason Steele is unlikely to participate.