Brighton & Hove Albion put up an incredibly good fight, but in the end, Manchester United picked up a hard-fought victory at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.Ashley Young's 66th-minute strike took a massive deflection off Lewis Dunk before looping over a helpless Matt Ryan into the net, and that was enough for Jose Mourinho's men.Despite the scrappy nature of the performance against Brighton, Man Utd remain the closest team to Man City at the top of the Premier League and recorded yet another clean sheet.

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Brighton were just as good, if not better, than United before Dunk's own goal, with Anthony Knockaert in particular causing the Red Devils lots of problems.

However, one Man Utd player produced a very assured display against the newly-promoted side and deservedly received a lot of praise from supporters after the match.

Man Utd player shines in scrappy win

There's no doubt that Man United had to battle to earn the three points, and the man who arguably embodied that mentality the most during the game was Victor Lindelof.

Unlike other summer signings Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku, Lindelof has struggled to establish himself in Mourinho's starting XI and was only making his second league start.

However, he put in a very encouraging performance and his crunching challenge on Knockaert, which you can see below, led to one of the biggest cheers of the entire match.

The 23-year-old is known as being a ball-playing defender, however that moment showcased a level of desire and motivation that hasn't gone unnoticed by Man United fans on Twitter.

Man Utd fans react to Lindelof's performance

Lindelof won Man United's Man of the Match vote at full-time, and fans were full of praise for the Swede, with some claiming it was his best performance for the club and others comparing him to the legendary Nemanja Vidic.

Check out the best tweets below:

After his commanding display, Lindelof told MUTV that he really enjoyed the match, especially the tackle on Knockaert, whilst emphasising the importance of keeping a clean sheet.

Man United fans will hope the Swedish international can take this confidence-building display forward, ahead of trips to Watford and Arsenal in the Premier League next week.

Do YOU think Lindelof can become a regular in Man Utd's starting XI after his performance against Brighton? Share YOUR opinion in the comments box below!