Following Brighton’s victory at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s hopes of winning the domestic cup ended as both teams lost at the first hurdle.
Manchester United’s FA Cup defeat ends their trophy hopes for another season (Image: )
Manchester United’s hopes of qualifying for the FA Cup ended with defeat to Brighton in the third round, leaving them eliminated at the first hurdle from both domestic cup competitions for the first time since 1982.
For 44 years, United have managed to reach at least one round in each of the two competitions, but defeat at the hands of the Seagulls added to the misery that began when they suffered humiliation at Grimsby Town.
The Red Devils’ disastrous campaign meant the FA Cup was their only realistic hope of winning silver this season, but that ambition is now over. Danny Welbeck’s strike against his old club ultimately won Brighton the winner.
United sat in second place for long periods on Sunday afternoon and, despite Benjamin Sesco’s late hopes, were unable to complete a complete turnaround. Earlier this season, they looked to come to the rescue against Blundell Park, scoring twice in the second half when they were trailing 2-0.
But that time they lost on penalties in an epic shootout, with the League Two side winning 12-11. Brian Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha both missed from 12 yards that night.
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The troubled side, who are without a manager in the Premier League following the sacking of Ruben Amorim, are 17 points behind leaders Arsenal, but are still in the hunt for a place in the Champions League. Their last disastrous campaign means there will be no European football.
Diogo Dalot missed a chance in the first half and the Portuguese defender insisted they deserved the win, but in the end they licked their wounds as they lamented the red card for Sia Lacey.
The team’s worst moment came when they lost at Grimsby (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
He told TNT Sports: “Honestly, we created enough to win the game. Then we were disadvantaged by the red card because in the last minute we were on top of Brighton. Overall it was very disappointing because we wanted to get through. All the players were trying to find space and as I said, it was really disappointing because I thought we deserved to win.”
With Mr Amorim sacked earlier this week and replaced by Darren Fletcher, Mr Dalot admitted negotiations were difficult. “It’s really difficult,” he said. “There are always times when we have to find a way to quickly solve problems. We have to adapt and move on again.”
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