Manchester United’s third win on the bounce left Gary Neville with plenty of heroes to celebrate, but he still unfairly criticised a player who made it all happen with just 27 touches of the ball.
Gary Neville raved about Bryan Mbeumo after the game, saying he looks like he “belongs” at Manchester United, which is high praise coming from a club legend.
He lauded Matheus Cunha for how he has adapted to playing at Old Trafford, relishing the pressure that comes with it.
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Neville was justified till that point, after which he completely missed the point by targeting a player who had made all the difference despite having just 27 touches of the ball.
Bryan Mbeumo of Manchester United celebrates scoring his teams third goal with teammate Benjamin Sesko during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on October 25, 2025
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Gary Neville’s baffling Benjamin Sesko critique
Benjamin Sesko should be fairly used to the scrutiny that follows a Man Utd player, regardless of their age, readiness, context, or form.
From being unfairly dubbed the worst signing of the window by some no-name agents, to being called out for effectively not being the saviour of an underperforming squad from minute one, he has shown remarkable mental resilience to keep plugging.
Those kinds of ill-intentioned attacks can be expected from those outside the Man Utd circle, which is what makes Neville’s critique all the more baffling.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Neville said Sesko struggled to link up with his teammates, a weird thing to say about a player involved in three of the four goals scored on the day.
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Neville said: “Sesko just doesn’t look like he’s combining well [with Cunha and Mbeumo] and he’s just stood up there.”
Sesko displayed a tremendous all-around game
One of the major criticisms of Rasmus Hojlund was that if he wasn’t scoring, he wasn’t doing anything, playing as a “+1” burden on a team of ten players.
Sesko’s game couldn’t be more different, and he showed it against Brighton by playing a role in all three goals scored when he was on the pitch.
His hold-up play to bring Casemiro into the game, which allowed him to pass it to Cunha for the opener, was excellent.
He was in the thick of things again for Casemiro’s goal, where he protected the ball under pressure instead of wrestling with the centre-backs.
His role in the third one was more direct, as he got his first assist in a United shirt by finding Mbeumo expertly after evading a couple of challenges as a deep-lying forward.
He had a total of just 27 touches during the game, but he made sure to make each and every one of those count, most often by bringing his teammates into the game.
It is baffling that Neville thought Sesko was “just stood up there”, when every goalscoring opportunity involved him and went through his feet.
The negative noise from outside the Man Utd circles is strong enough as it is. A 22-year-old prodigy doesn’t need more unjustified criticism from one of his own.