Welbeck only getting better with age as he faces old club Man Utd

Football writer Daniel Edwards identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 9.

Player analysis: Danny Welbeck (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Welbeck turns 35 next month, but there’s little sign of him slowing down. If anything, he looks to be getting better with age as he prepares to face former side Manchester United on Saturday.

He scored twice last weekend to earn Brighton an impressive victory against a disciplined Newcastle United side who had only allowed more Expected Goals (xG) this season than Arsenal.

His first goal saw him make a clever run to separate himself from Newcastle’s central defenders before dinking the ball over an onrushing Nick Pope.

Welbeck's second was a well-taken strike from the edge of the box, the placement of which appeared to take Pope by surprise once more.

Watch Welbeck's brace v Newcastle

"You have to give him a lot of credit for the two goals he scored today, especially the first one," Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said.

"Because that's not easy to run away from our backline and have the composure to finish past Nick, who had been in great form and made a couple of good saves in the first half.

"For him to still be playing in the way that he is, is a credit to him."

It was Welbeck’s second brace in the space of three matches, having also scored twice against Chelsea in Matchweek 6, substituted on by Fabian Hurzeler when his side were trailing by a goal.

Brighton ended up winning 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Watch Welbeck's goals v Chelsea

This pair of doubles has lifted Welbeck up this season’s goalscoring charts – only Erling Haaland (11) and Antoine Semenyo (5) have scored more non-penalty goals than his four in the Premier League this season.

This is all the more impressive when you consider that Welbeck is the oldest forward to start a match in the competition this season, and the eighth-oldest player of any position.

In fact, he is more than two years older than his own head coach, Hurzeler.

The passage of time does not appear to affect Welbeck as it does most footballers. In fact, he has a better minutes-per-goal rate in his thirties than he did in his teens and twenties.

All the more remarkable is the consistency in his output throughout his career by this measure: he scored every 268 minutes in the Premier League as a teenager, every 271 minutes in his twenties, and now every 249 minutes in his thirties.

How Welbeck compares through the years

The 10 goals he scored in the Premier League last season are his most in a single campaign in the competition, and he is on course for a personal best once more in 2025/26.

Importance off the ball

In truth, though, goals have never told the whole story with Welbeck.

"With Danny I think everyone will focus on his two goals,” Hurzeler said after the Newcastle match.

“Of course, that's important to help win games, but when I look at his performance it's about how many times he helped our defenders to defend the goal, how many recovery runs he did. And if you work hard, if you do basic things right, then you will get the rewards. And that was the case for Danny today.

"I think we all know that he has unbelievable quality in the box and has very good execution when he is in front of the goal, but for me it is how he stays as a leader, how he works for his team. That was just the best.”

The numbers certainly back up Hurzeler’s claims. Welbeck made 291 Opta-defined “intensive runs” in the win over Newcastle, which was the fourth-most of any player in the match.

The three players who outranked him were all full-backs who were on the pitch eight minutes longer than himself.

Hurzeler's praise echoes Ferguson's

Welbeck’s worth ethic has made him a manager’s dream throughout his full career, and Hurzeler’s thoughts bear a resemblance to those of former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in years gone by.

Ferguson boldly started Welbeck in place of Wayne Rooney for Man Utd’s last-16 second-leg match in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid in 2013, a decision that caused great surprise at the time.

Though his side were eliminated, Ferguson backed his decision.

"Tactically we got it right," he said. "We don't always but we did then. Welbeck is the best player we have in terms of operating in a double role. We had to choke [Xabi] Alonso's ability to control the game, which Danny did."

Welbeck’s ability to disrupt opponents is clearly seen as of equal importance to his ability to put the ball in the back of the net, and his age has done little to diminish either quality.

"I have the passion and love for football," Welbeck told BBC Match of the Day after his latest brace.

"It's what I want to do. I feel good. I feel strong and fit so I won't be stopping soon."

Welbeck will return to Old Trafford, where his side have won their last three visits in a row. Overall, Brighton have an excellent recent record against United, winning six of their last seven meetings.

With six goals against Man Utd, Welbeck is in the sort of form that could very well see him add to that tally.

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