Mason Greenwood tipped to take Cavani’s centre-forward spot following Man United winner vs Brighton
Calls have mounted online this evening for Manchester United starlet Mason Greenwood to be handed a prolonged opportunity to impress centrally, on the back of his match-winning goal versus Brighton & Hove Albion.
Rashford cancels out Welbeck
Sunday’s final Premier League fixture of course played out at Old Trafford a short time ago.
The clash saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United play host to the Seagulls, in the respective sides’ first outing following the international break.
It was widely predicted that United would come out of the blocks slowly, with so many of the club’s star performers having featured for their respective nations over the course of the last week.
Few could have called, however, just how poorly the hosts would fare over the course of the opening 45 minutes.
A flat, uninspired opening to the action eventually resulted in Danny Welbeck handing Brighton the lead inside the opening quarter of an hour, heading home at the 2nd attempt versus his former club:
Welbeck scores on his return!
Henderson does well to stop the first effort, but there’s no stopping the second
Had to be that guy! pic.twitter.com/8Xkb4MRF6g
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 4, 2021
And this is how things remained for the best part of the ensuing hour, before Marcus Rashford levelled things up for an admittedly much improved United.
Bruno Fernandes’ pass to the left-hand side was latched onto by the Reds’ English international wide-man, who went on to slot confidently into the far corner of the visitors’ net:
Rashforddd… Level!
Bruno Fernandes doing all the work, drawing defenders (and the foul ), leaving the finish to United’s No. 1️⃣0️⃣
Great finish, and game on pic.twitter.com/sHvKZRbumw
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 4, 2021
Greenwood ready for centre-forward spot?
From here, United truly began to turn up the heat on Brighton’s backline, as Solskjaer’s men went in search of an all-important winner.
And though the Reds didn’t exactly showcase all that much quality in their efforts to do so, a crucial 2nd, seven minutes from time, was indeed forthcoming.
After Paul Pogba mistimed his volleyed effort at goal, Mason Greenwood did superbly to improvise, directing a stooping header beyond the clutches of the despairing Robert Sanchez:
Greenwood with the header!
Less than ten minutes to go, the United youngster stays on his toes to put United in front
A late winner from a young talent, seen that before ⚫ pic.twitter.com/4ogIoTAXeS
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 4, 2021
Greenwood’s winner, remarkably, came less than two minutes after the English international was shifted into a central role by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
With Edinson Cavani struggling to impact proceedings on his return, the United boss opted to haul off the Uruguayan just inside the game’s closing ten minutes, in the process moving Greenwood from his berth on the right into a direct centre-forward position.
This is of course the role which many feel United’s talented young attacker is destined to fill in the long-term, having previously been described as ‘one of, if not the‘ finest finisher his manager has ever worked with.
In turn, calls have quickly mounted for Greenwood to be handed the chance to impress as the Reds’ attacking spearhead over the course of the season’s run-in, with Anthony Martial sidelined long-term, and Cavani expected to move on in the summer:
Mason Greenwood is put up front & within 2 minutes, he’s gone on & scored. It’s not f*cking rocket science, Ole.
— Ryan. (@Vintage_Utd) April 4, 2021
Make Greenwood our first choice centre-forward NOW. @ManUtd
— ‘ (@Greenwoodhive) April 4, 2021
Play Greenwood up front for the rest of the season
— Kwame D (@dBoi_Dawson) April 4, 2021
Greenwood been class, put him up front more often till the end of the season and w few fans would change their minds about choosing Haaland over Sancho
— ℕ (@___NIDHAL___) April 4, 2021
Greenwood was playing centre forward for what? 30 seconds? Stop throwing him out on the wing.
— All Vibes No Trophies FC (@OldTraffordChat) April 4, 2021
Greenwood shd always play central, no more RW shit
— Manutd (@IvanAlexxa) April 4, 2021
Mannn just give Greenwood the spot up top
— S (@satisingh97) April 4, 2021
Just my thought on Greenwood, he needs to play as centre forward. Enough with inconsistency from Cavani, it’s time to put Greenwood playing up front on regular basis. More goals are coming with him playing in his natural position. https://t.co/TJyLlKIPPn
— Mimal (@MimalKushairi) April 4, 2021
Much Needed 3 points well done lads I’m happy Greenwood scores the moment he was switched to play as our striker hopefully he starts the next game up front pic.twitter.com/ETrz02WQNw
— Tinka (@UtdCode) April 4, 2021
I’d give Greenwood a run of games up front now. He’s by far our best finisher and the closer we can get him to the goal the better. He deserved his goal today. #MUFC
— Abdullah Moallim (@AbdullahMoallim) April 4, 2021
Alex Telles to consider leaving Man United in summer
Man United tipped to hand David de Gea huge pay-off in summer as part of goalkeeper clear-out
This article was edited by
Josh Barker.
Manchester United betting odds, next game:
Manchester United’s latest videos
3 Premier League Wins v Brighton at Old Trafford | Manchester United v Brighton | Bitesize Boxset
Ahead of United’s Premier League clash against Brighton on Sunday, we look back on…
2021-04-03T15:00:29Z
Danny Welbeck: Manchester Born and Bred | Manchester United v Brighton
As United take on Brighton on Sunday, we look forward to welcoming home Academy…
2021-04-03T13:00:32Z
Manchester United latest news
Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 31 | 45 | 74 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 29 | 24 | 57 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 30 | 19 | 56 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 30 | 16 | 51 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 30 | 19 | 49 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 30 | 15 | 49 |
| 7 | West Ham United FC | 29 | 10 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 28 | 3 | 46 |
| 9 | Arsenal FC | 30 | 5 | 42 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 30 | -1 | 42 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 28 | 9 | 41 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace FC | 29 | -16 | 37 |
| 13 | Southampton FC | 30 | -14 | 36 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 29 | -10 | 35 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 30 | -16 | 33 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 29 | -4 | 32 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 30 | -20 | 29 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 30 | -15 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | -34 | 21 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 30 | -35 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 18 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 11 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
| McGoldrick, David | Sheffield United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 5 |
