Marcus Rashford scored his 41st goal for the club on his 150th appearance
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the first Manchester United manager to win his first six league games in charge as his side held on to beat Brighton.
It was United's seventh straight win since the Norwegian took over at Old Trafford on an interim basis a month ago and they are now just three points off fourth-placed Chelsea, who play Arsenal in Saturday's late kick-off.
Paul Pogba put United in front after winning and then converting a penalty in the 27th minute.
Marcus Rashford doubled the lead just before half-time with a beautiful solo goal on his 150th appearance for the club.
Pascal Gross halved the deficit for the visitors when he scored in off the bar with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Brighton improved in the second half but their wretched away record continued as they fell to a fifth defeat in their last eight Premier League games.
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Relive Man Utd's victory
Reaction from all six 15:00 GMT kick-offs in the Premier League
The last time these sides met was in August, when United's season under Jose Mourino began unravelling with a 3-2 defeat.
But United's first-half performance at Old Trafford on Saturday was worlds apart from that game last summer.
Solskjaer almost had the luxury of naming an unchanged line-up for back-to-back league games for the first time since December 2017, but Luke Shaw fell ill in the warm-up and Diogo Dalot took his place.
United put Brighton under relentless pressure from the off and deservedly took the lead.
Nemanja Matic's cross-field pass found Pogba, whose first touch took him past Gaetan Bong and the defender then clumsily nudged him over.
The Frenchman's stuttering penalty run-up has not completely disappeared, but this was nowhere near as long as his 26-step effort against Everton back in October and he slotted his shot past David Button.
Rashford's recent goalscoring form continued as he got his ninth of the season and his fifth under Solskjaer.
The England striker was played in by Dalot, sent Gross the wrong way and then bent his shot into the top corner.
Rashford was excellent for the first hour, spraying passes about with confidence and whipping in a stunning cross for Jesse Lingard, who prodded wide when he really should have scored.
United eased off in the final 20 minutes, lacking sharpness and became sloppy as they missed out on a fourth clean sheet in a row.
What's next?
United travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday (19:55 GMT), a game that is live on BBC One. They then host Burnley in the league on 29 January.
Brighton are also in cup action and host Championship side West Brom on Saturday (15:00 GMT). The Seagulls then travel to Premier League strugglers Fulham on 29 January.
More to follow.
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Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text
Line-ups
Man Utd
1De Gea
18Young
2Lindelöf
4Jones
20Dalot
21Herrera
31Matic
6Pogba
14LingardSubstituted forMataat 75'minutes
10RashfordBooked at 90minsSubstituted forDarmianat 90+4'minutes
11MartialSubstituted forLukakuat 83'minutes
3Bailly
7Sánchez
8Mata
9Lukaku
15Pereira
22Romero
36Darmian
Brighton
27Button
22Montoya
4Duffy
5Dunk
3Bong
20MarchSubstituted forKnockaertat 60'minutes
13GroßSubstituted forKayalat 82'minutes
6Stephens
24Pröpper
9Locadia
17MurraySubstituted forAndoneat 60'minutes
2Bruno
7Kayal
10Andone
11Knockaert
14Balogun
23Steele
42Gyokeres
Referee:
Paul Tierney
Attendance:
74,532
Match Stats
Home TeamMan UtdAway TeamBrighton
Possession
Home56%
Away44%
Shots
Home20
Away7
Shots on Target
Home5
Away3
Corners
Home6
Away5
Fouls
Home11
Away11
Live Text
Posted at
Match ends, Manchester United 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 1.Full TimePosted at 90'+6'
Second Half ends, Manchester United 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 1.
Posted at 90'+5'
Foul by Ashley Young (Manchester United).Posted at 90'+5'
Florin Andone (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.SubstitutionPosted at 90'+4'
Substitution, Manchester United. Matteo Darmian replaces Marcus Rashford.BookingPosted at 90'+3'
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.Posted at 90'+3'
Foul by Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).Posted at 90'+3'
Martín Montoya (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.Posted at 90'+2'
Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by Victor Lindelöf.Posted at 90'+1'
Ander Herrera (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.Posted at 90'+1'
Foul by Gaëtan Bong (Brighton and Hove Albion).Posted at 89'
Attempt missed. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Diogo Dalot.Posted at 88'
Delay over. They are ready to continue.Posted at 87'
Delay in match Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) because of an injury.Posted at 86'
Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by David De Gea.Posted at 85'
Foul by Paul Pogba (Manchester United).Posted at 85'
Anthony Knockaert (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.SubstitutionPosted at 83'
Substitution, Manchester United. Romelu Lukaku replaces Anthony Martial.SubstitutionPosted at 82'
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Beram Kayal replaces Pascal Groß.Posted at 77'
Attempt saved. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) right footed shot from long range on the left is saved in the bottom right corner.SubstitutionPosted at 75'
Substitution, Manchester United. Juan Mata replaces Jesse Lingard.
Goal!Posted at 72'
Goal! Manchester United 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 1. Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Davy Pröpper with a cross.Posted at 68'
Attempt saved. Ander Herrera (Manchester United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Anthony Martial.Posted at 65'
Foul by Jesse Lingard (Manchester United).Posted at 65'
Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.Posted at 64'
Attempt missed. Victor Lindelöf (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ashley Young with a cross following a corner.Posted at 63'
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Gaëtan Bong.Posted at 61'
Ander Herrera (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.Posted at 61'
Foul by Florin Andone (Brighton and Hove Albion).SubstitutionPosted at 60'
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Anthony Knockaert replaces Solly March.SubstitutionPosted at 60'
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Florin Andone replaces Glenn Murray.Posted at 60'
Attempt missed. Lewis Dunk (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses to the left following a set piece situation.Posted at 59'
Foul by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).Posted at 59'
Martín Montoya (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.Posted at 59'
Attempt missed. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Nemanja Matic following a corner.Posted at 58'
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Shane Duffy.Posted at 57'
Attempt missed. Anthony Martial (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Nemanja Matic.Posted at 53'
Attempt missed. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Marcus Rashford with a cross.Posted at 50'
Foul by Ander Herrera (Manchester United).Posted at 50'
Glenn Murray (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Source: bbc.com
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