James enjoys birthday win over Brighton

Daniel James had a birthday to remember, once again impressing in a red shirt as Manchester United secured a comfortable victory over Brighton at Old Trafford.

The Wales winger, who turned 22 on Sunday, played an instrumental role in the 3-1 win, with his electric pace causing the Seagulls’ defence all kinds of problems.

Speaking to MUTV after the game, James claimed that we’re now starting to see the Reds’ attacking play come together after a difficult start to the season.

“Today was another outstanding performance from us. As we’ve done in the past few weeks, we’ve been creating chances and scoring them.

“From the start of the season, it was about moulding as a team, and as the weeks have gone by – on Thursday night ,and in the games at Norwich and at Chelsea, the interplay, creating chances going forward and that high press have been a big thing for us. That’s where we got the goals from today.”

Our summer signing from Swansea City has enjoyed a fine start to his United career, playing the majority of games and establishing himself as a fans’ favourite due to his exciting wing play and strong work ethic. He admits that he didn’t expect to play as many games as he has in his debut season in the top flight, but is relishing being a part of the starting XI.

“When I came here, I didn’t know what to expect, it was just about getting my head down and working hard,“ he said.

“I didn’t think I’d play as many games but the gaffer has shown massive trust in me and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

James was one of three players nominated by MUTV pundit Danny Webber for the Man-of-the-Match award, narrowly missing out on the accolade by a mere one per cent of the vote. He was full of praise for the winner, Brandon Williams, who was making his first Premier League start.

“All the boys who have come up [from the Academy] this season have done unbelievably,” said James.

“Brandon was unbelievable today. He’s great in training every day and has an unbelievable attitude, so massive credit to him to come in for his starting debut in the Premier League.”

James will now be looking forward to joining up with Ryan Giggs and the Welsh national side, and is pleased to be heading into the international break on a high.

“Getting those three points before the international break is massive,” assessed our no.21.

“We have a lot of games when we get back, in the cups and in the Premier League, but we’ve got to take each one in our stride and believe we can win every game, because we’ve got the ability to [do that].”