20230424_wan_bissaka_mitoma(C)Getty images

'Complete defeat' - Aaron Wan-Bissaka was too 'strong' in Brighton's loss to Man Utd, admits Kaoru Mitoma

  • Man Utd beat Brighton in FA Cup
  • Wan-Bissaka was impressive against Mitoma
  • Japanese winger accepted "complete defeat"

WHAT HAPPENED? The Red Devils sealed their berth in the FA Cup final in June after getting the better of Brighton in a thrilling penalty shootout victory at Wembley, after the two teams were locked at 0-0 following 120 minutes of action. Wan-Bissaka kept a tight leash on Mitoma on Sunday evening with some crunching tackles throughout the game and came out on top in one-on-one situations.

The winger has been in sensational form under Roberto De Zerbi, with 10 goals and seven assists in 31 appearances this season, but had no qualms in accepting that Wan-Bissaka had completely outplayed him.

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WHAT THEY SAID: "He is a strong opponent, that is what I thought while I was playing. But there were a lot of situations where his legs stretched at the end or he got the ball down to the back. I think it was a complete defeat," Mitoma told reporters after the game.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Japanese winger was also livid with himself for not taking the chances he was able to get and admitted that he had room for improvement.

"I regret that I didn't score a goal despite having a few chances to do so," he added. "And it's difficult to score penalties. So I think I could have done something more before that (penalty shootout). I haven't played against (Manchester United), but all their players are of high quality individually so we had to be careful on the counter-attacks. But I think the match as a whole went well, but they had qualities at the end. I also need to improve."

IN THREE PHOTOS:

20230424_mitoma-wan_bissaka(C)Getty imagesAaron Wan-BissakaGETTY20230423 Kaoru Mitoma(C)Getty Images

WHAT NEXT FOR BRIGHTON & MANCHESTER UNITED? The Seagulls will return to action against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, while United will make a trip to London to face Tottenham on the same day in the Premier League.

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