Hannibal Mejbri has offered a defense for his celebration during Manchester United’s 3-1 loss to Brighton.
The 20-year-old came off the bench to score his debut goal for the club in just his fourth appearance at Old Trafford. However, it served as nothing more than a consolation since United was already trailing 3-0 at that point.
Former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck had given Brighton the lead in the first half with a well-placed finish from inside the penalty area.
The home side believed they had equalized when Rasmus Højlund appeared to score his first goal for the club from Marcus Rashford’s assist.
However, VAR ruled that the ball had gone out of play when Rashford delivered the cross. It was a fortunate escape for Brighton, but they heeded the warning.
Pascal Gross extended Brighton’s lead to 2-0 with his fourth goal at Old Trafford, just eight minutes into the second half, when he powered the ball past Andre Onana. Erik ten Hag made changes, bringing on Hannibal and Anthony Martial for Casemiro and Højlund, respectively. However, it didn’t have the desired impact as Joao Pedro made it 3-0 shortly afterward.
Two minutes later, United managed to pull a goal back when Hannibal received the ball from Lisandro Martinez and found the bottom corner. While there wasn’t an exuberant celebration from the fans at Old Trafford, the player himself seemed overjoyed to have scored. Despite the 3-1 scoreline, he waved his arms wildly and appeared absolutely delighted.
Obviously a great moment for Hannibal Mejbri…
But what’s your thoughts on celebrating like this when 3-0 down at home?🤔#MUFC #ManchesterUnited pic.twitter.com/n3ApwLDcsu
— The 44 ⚽️ (@The_Forty_Four) September 16, 2023
Hannibal Mejbri defends his celebration
It was a celebration that many fans, perhaps harshly, questioned given the circumstances of the match. But now, the player himself has come out and defended himself. After obviously hearing the controversy surrounding his celebrations, the player took to social media to write: “Years of work went into that moment to score a goal for this incredible club. Impossible to enjoy it without the team getting the result we wanted.”
Fairplay. You can’t argue with that. It was a moment that he won’t forget for his entire career. He won’t remember the result of the match but he will remember when he scored his first goal for Manchester United.
Man Utd have now lost three game in their previous four against Tottenham, Arsenal and Brighton. And Ten Hag admitted that he’s ‘worried’ about their current form.