Manchester United have qualified for the quarter finals of the EFL Cup. The Red Devils had less trouble with Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday evening (0-3 win) than was the case on Saturday in a competition context (2-3). Donny van de Beek had a basic place and contributed with a nice foot movement to the 0-2 of Juan Mata; Joël Veltman of Brighton & Hove Albion had an unfortunate role in the 0-3.

Partly in view of Sunday’s league match against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made no fewer than ten changes to the starting line-up. The only player to keep his starting spot from the league match against Brighton was Victor Lindelöf in the rear. In the opening phase of the game, possession was for Manchester United, which initially created too few opportunities to embarrass Brighton. In the penultimate minute of the first half, however, Scott McTominay opened the score with a header from a measured free kick from Mata.

It took a long time after the break before Manchester United took over the game. Seventeen minutes before time, Mata took care of the 0-2 after excellent preparatory work by Van de Beek. After a pass from Fred, the midfielder who had come from Ajax extended the ball with the heel, launching Mata and enabling it to make it 0-2 with a shot that passed through defender Lewis Dunk’s legs. Paul Pogba determined the final score from a free kick that was changed direction by Veltman.