Eric ten Hag loses focus against Brighton due to Luke Shaw’s handball error that cost Manchester United | football news

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Manchester United lost 1-0 at Brighton as Luke Shaw’s injury-time handball allowed Alexis McAllister to win it from the penalty spot. While Erik ten Hag and Luke Shaw bemoaned missed chances, Roberto De Zerbi argued the win was well deserved.

23:30, United Kingdom, Thursday 04 May 2023

Erik ten Hag was frustrated with Manchester United’s finish and lack of focus when they succumbed to injury-time defeat against Brighton.

An Alexis McAllister penalty in the 99th minute after Luke Shaw’s handball gave Roberto De Zerbi’s side a 1-0 victory at the Amex Stadium to lift Brighton into sixth as United missed out on a chance to move into third. Missed opportunities was the story of their evening.

“In the first minute we create a big chance but we don’t score so we have to be more able to deal with the chances we create in the first half,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports.

“We had the chances, clear. Anthony, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Casemiro. One has to go. But if you can’t win because you don’t take your chances, don’t lose them. We missed a goal, maybe we lose a little bit of focus. It can’t happen.

“Also, we were a bit unlucky because it was never a free kick that a corner came from. There were a lot of bad tackles tonight where there was no whistle and it was nothing, a fair save, and there is a whistle.

“We can’t recover [on the night] But that’s what we have to do on Sunday.”

Shaw then owned up to the foul, his errant arm making contact with the ball as a late corner kick reached the penalty area, although he was disappointed by a foul being awarded against him just before that due to the lightest touch on Julio Enciso.

Shaw: ‘I own up, silly foul’ Luke Shaw explains the incident that led to Brighton being awarded a penalty

“It hurts a lot,” Shaw told Sky Sports.

“Last minute. Last action, really. I got a little nudge but of course my hand shouldn’t be there. Of course, I put up with it and deal with it. It cost us the game and it’s tough.”

“I can’t even explain why my hand was there. I touched but my hand still wasn’t there. But I think even before the corner that was awarded before, it was never a foul.

“I’m not looking for excuses but there’s no way it should have been a mistake and this led to the corner. So maybe that corner shouldn’t have happened. I can’t change that. I’m not accusing the governor of anything. I own up. Ridiculous mistake.”

“The problem is that we don’t score. In the first half we have three or four chances that we should score. On the other hand, it comes down to my fault at the end, but I think with the chances we would have had if we had to score those goals and the game would have been completely different if we had scored.” Early with the opportunities we create.

“We have to kick ourselves. We were comfortable but now you can say it’s a real chase, the teams around us are collecting points. But it’s still in our hands.”

De Zerbi: There is a god of football Roberto De Zerbi claims there is a ‘god of football’ after Brighton’s late win

Brighton are technically fifth given they are four points behind Liverpool but have played two fewer games.

For their manager De Zerby, the win was particularly satisfying given they lost the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United on penalties just last month.

“I’m really happy, very happy with the performance and with the result,” Roberto De Zerbi told Sky Sports.

“I think there is a God of football because we deserved to win the semi-final and we lost on penalties, and here we won our penalty. I think the two games we played better than United and the last result was unfair.

“We played a great game and controlled the game against a great team and one great team. But I think my players deserved to win.”

Asked what this says about what Brighton can achieve this season, De Zerby, keen to focus on the next game at home to Everton on Monday, replied: “At the moment, nothing.”

And he added, “We will play six more matches, six very difficult matches, and on Monday we will play the first match, very difficult against Everton, and we have to win because if we do not win against Everton, we lose these three points.”

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