Erik ten Hag matchday Q and A for Man Utd v Brighton | 16 September 2023

Our game against Arsenal was so close to having a very different result. But what moments of that performance are you looking to build on when we face Brighton?
“As you said, it was a good performance, we didn’t get a result and we had absolutely, in the 86th minute and in the 88th minute, two big opportunities to win a game. So it is really disappointing when you don’t get the win and then, finally, you lose. It was, of course, a bad moment and you go in a bad mood into the break, but after one day, you reflected that we are really progressing as a team. Spirit is good and they fight together. We get more consistent and so we are happy. We have to be happy. But of course, we know football and you have to win. And at United definitely.”

A lot of people admire the way that Brighton play. What do you think of their attacking threat?
“It’s a very good side but I love to play against them. And, last year, we had two incredible, good matches. One we won, in a semi-final against them at Wembley. One, we lose in the last dying seconds of the game. So it’s really head to head. We know we have to be good, so we have to do and put in everything to get the right result.”

You mentioned it just there, we were unable to get the better of them in the Premier League last season, but came through a pretty tense FA Cup semi-final. Are you after that similar mentality going into this game?
“Yeah, that should have been the mentality, every day, every game, and you need that winning mentality and, therefore, you need spirit in the team. But everyone also has to take responsibility for their performance.”