Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys dropped his two cents on one important moment in Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League after suffering their 10th loss in the 2024-25 campaign, with the Red Devils 10 points above the relegation zone.
Ruben Amorim’s men had won two of their first three matches across all competitions in 2025 before Brighton’s arrival at Old Trafford on the weekend.
Brighton stunned United in only the fifth minute of the Premier League tie after Yankuba Minteh scored the opener for Fabian Hurzeler’s men.
However, Ruben Amorim’s side rallied back and Bruno Fernandes cancelled out Yankuba Minteh’s opener from the spot-kick for United.
United and Brighton played out a 1-1 scoreline up to the half-time whistle before Fabian Hurzeler’s side took control of the match in the second half.
Kaoru Mitoma restored Brighton’s advantage after the break before Andre Onana’s howler allowed Georginio Rutter to score his side’s third of the match.
Keys raises eyebrow at referee decision
Referee Peter Bankes had no choice but to point to the spot in the first half after Carlos Baleba dragged down Joshua Zirkzee in the Manchester United box.
Bruno Fernandes sent Bart Verbruggen the wrong way in the subsequent penalty and the Red Devils pulled themselves level at Old Trafford in the first half.
However, United fans were furious with Peter Bankes for only brandishing a yellow card for Carlos Baleba’s reckless challenge on United striker Joshua Zirkzee.
Richard Keys insisted that the incident was a “nailed on” penalty for United, but even he was surprised at how the Brighton player managed to stay on the pitch.
Speaking on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: “Nailed on pen for [Man] Utd – but why wasn’t Baleba sent-off?
“It was a clear denial with no attempt to play the ball. Amazing. Not [one] – but [two] refs got it wrong.”
Amorim on Man Utd performance vs Brighton
United manager Ruben Amorim insisted that the defeat to Brighton on Sunday highlighted the Red Devils’ problems of not being “consistent” with their results.
“The opponent is better than us in many details, that we cannot be consistent, that I am not helping my players in the moment,” he said at his post-match press conference, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“It’s a hard moment and we have to acknowledge we are in a very difficult situation, all the bad records – losing games at home, losing games in the Premier League.
“We are really underperforming and we need to win games, that’s all.”
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