Matheus Cunha reveals brutal message from Man Utd team-mates after scoring against Brighton as he admits to feeling 'anxious' about goal drought

Cunha had shown many flashes of brilliance in his first few months at United although he had lacked a bit of luck in front of goal and took time to return to his usual sharpness after getting injured in his fourth game against Burnley. He impressed a lot of fans with his dogged display in the win at Anfield but it was against Brighton that he showed his true class. The Brazilian rattled a venomous shot at goal early in the game which was tipped away by Bart Verbruggen. But then he beat the Dutch goalkeeper with a wonderful curling shot to put United in front. His compatriot Casemiro and fellow summer signing Bryan Mbeumo also scored in a thrilling victory for the Red Devils, who rose up to fourth in the Premier League table thanks to a third consecutive win.

Cunha told BBC Match of the Day how he felt after finally scoring his first goal for United: "It is hard to say something now. I have worked so hard for this. This is the club and this performance needs to be common and normal. I feel so good to be part of this. My first goal here at Old Trafford, I dreamed a lot of this but of course the win is much more important.

"I joked with Bryan [Mbeumo] and [Benjamin] Sesko, I told them I need to have this feeling [scoring], I felt so anxious to be a part of this and when I scored they said 'look you can enjoy it now.' All the day the support for my team-mates, I feel so good to be part of this."

The Brazilian admitted it had been a long time since he had last scored a goal and he revealed that his team-mates joked about his goal drought just after he netted. He said: "I haven't scored in a long time. The players were joking with me in the locker room saying: 'Oh so you can score!'"

When he signed for the club in June, Cunha revealed that he had grown up supporting United. He would watch their games at his grandmother's house with his cousin, who convinced him to join him in supporting the Red Devils. Wayne Rooney was his idol.

Cunha was visibly emotional after scoring against Brighton in front of the United fans and he spoke of the connection he has with them. "I am one of them," he declared. "This is the club I grew up watching and to be here is a mix of sensations. To help them, it is my dream come true."

Amorim admitted that Cunha had been concerned by his lack of goals but he praised the other aspects of his game. "He was struggling about not scoring goals, he can try to hide but I understand why he was so happy" the coach said. "I think he felt against Liverpool he feels more confident if the game is harder, I really like the way he defends today he was not jumping all the time. Today he defended really well and when he has the ball I have no concerns."

Cunha scored 15 league goals for Wolves last season and now he has ended his drought he will be looking to kick on and raise his goal tally when United take on Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in their next two games before the November international break. Cunha said United are now in the situation everyone expected them to be in at the start of the season and urged his team-mates to keep up the good work.

"I think we are there now," he said. "We need to feel this is common. This is a club that needs to be in these kind of positions and I hope we can continue like this to finish the season where we want."