Chris Hughton says Brighton deserve more credit for Manchester United win and targets upset against Liverpool

Brighton manager Chris Hughton said his side deserved more credit for their 3-2 win against Manchester United and called for a similar performance against Liverpool on Saturday.

Glenn Murray, Shane Duffy and Pascal Gross all scored goals in the first half to secure a well-deserved win against United, but much of the attention after the game was about Jose Mourinho’s side.

However, Hughton does not feel it is necessarily a bad thing to receive less coverage for their performance as he prepares to take his squad to Anfield.

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Liverpool have started the season well, with an emphatic win against West Ham and a hard battled victory against Brighton’s rivals Crystal Palace, but Hughton said his side should be confident about leaving Anfield with at least a point.

The challenge for Brighton this season is to begin backing up emphatic performances with a run of results to prove they are more than a side battling to stay in the Premier League. Last season they only won consecutive league games once, a 4-1 win against Swansea and a shock victory against Arsenal, which shows what Hughton must address this term.

“We have to approach Saturday in a manner which will allow us to get something, the Manchester United result should give us the confidence to do that,” he said.

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“Perhaps we didn’t get the credit we deserved on Sunday but that’s normal, it comes with the coverage of the big teams but it’s not a bad thing to go under the radar.”

Brighton defended well against United and restricted Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial to precious few chances at the Amex, but Hughton is expecting a much harder game against Manchester City’s most likely title challengers, Liverpool.

“We’re expecting a quick game because of how they play, they have a lot of pace in the side. They’ve showed it last season and have made good additions to the squad.

“We have to defend well on Saturday but also be a threat ourselves. We’ll need good periods in the game and will have to take advantage of those.”

An improvement on last season would see Brighton tackle their poor away form, the worst of any team last season.

“The challenge is for us to improve our away form and they don’t come any tougher than away at Anfield,” Hughton said.

Lewis Dunk sustained a foot injury and left Sunday’s match with a protective boot on, but his injury is not as first expected, confirmed Hughton, who also revealed Florin Andone, Bruno and Jose Izquierdo will all miss the trip to Merseyside.

Steve Sidwell was a big part of Brighton’s promotion in 2016/17 and left the club as a player at the end of last season after an injury disrupted year. He has returned to the Seagulls as a youth development coach and a club ambassador.

“It was the right time for Steve Sidwell to retire – we’ll miss his influence in the dressing room but we’re delighted that he’s coming back to the club,” said Hughton. We’ve got both him and Liam Rosenior who’ve come back and that’s great.”