Manchester United 1-2 Brighton: The Red Devils suffered again with the return of Danny Welbeck in what could be Darren Fletcher’s final outing, losing to the Seagulls in the third round of the FA Cup.
Brighton maintained an incredible record at Old Trafford (Image: )
Brighton secured another win at Old Trafford, ensuring Manchester United’s week got even worse and their FA Cup hopes ended for another year.
Perhaps to Darren Fletcher’s rousing anthem as caretaker manager, Danny Welbeck put his team ahead with a goal from Brajan Gruda in the first half and saw them beaten by the visiting Seagulls, before returning to enjoy another moment in the place he once called home.
This is the lowest record for United, who were knocked out of both domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle for the first time in 44 years. A humiliating loss to Grimsby Town earlier this season was followed by a loss to Brighton.
Brighton scored after a cleared Diogo Dalot had an early shot saved by Jason Steele, with Gruda scoring. Georginio Rutter’s header was cleared on the line by Lisandro Martinez, but his German team-mate fired past four United defenders from six yards in front of the Stretford End.
The home side’s frustration was growing and their difficult task was made worse when Welbeck scored a stunning goal to double Brighton’s lead. He allowed the ball to cross, but the left-footed striker fired a shot into the top corner of the goal.
Benjamin Sesco, fresh off a two-game winning streak midweek, headed home with five minutes remaining from a grandstand finish. But United’s 10-man team could not rally to find an equalizer minutes later when teenager Shay Lacey was shown a second yellow for throwing the ball away.
Here are five talking points from Sunday’s game
read more: Manchester United dressing room, Ruben Amorim presents clear goals in private meeting after leaving the clubread more: Manchester United could miss out on bargain January transfer opportunity after Ruben Amorim decision
A week to forget
They sack their head coach on Monday, have to fight back to pick up a point against a relegation-placed side in midweek, and then watch their hopes of winning another trophy crumble in their own backyard. Manchester’s red side this week has always been a source of debate, but those close to the club won’t remember it too fondly.
It will be several months before they can talk about the next new era, so perhaps the interim manager who takes over this week will pick up some seriously broken pieces. The FA Cup and hopes of finishing in the top four have been two of the club’s goals this term, but from now on all league matches will be on the table.
Brighton – and Welbeck – love Old Trafford
Unless you have time to delve into the archives, you won’t find too many away teams winning four times on the trot at Old Trafford, but the Seagulls did just that and won again. To say their week in Manchester has been a positive one would be an understatement. Last season, Fabian Hürzeler became the third Brighton manager to win consecutive games at Old Trafford, following Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi.
Danny Welbeck scores Brighton’s fifth goal against Man United (Image: )
They added qualification to the FA Cup to their three-game winning streak for the red Manchester side, which they have achieved in recent years. At every turn, they more than deserved the victory. They must be looking forward to their next trip on May 24th.
Welbeck scored in last season’s win, but as he has done on several occasions in the past, the former United man was against the visitors scoring at Old Trafford. His strong finish put Brighton in complete control and he did not hesitate to celebrate.
Mynu audition ends in failure
He seemed to be firmly regarded as a player in the team under Amorim, even though the Portuguese manager claimed he was “the future of the club”. You wouldn’t think he felt that way, given the lack of time given to star players in the academy. Casemiro regularly started ahead of him, but that could be about to change.
Koby Mainu got off to an unusual start and failed to make an impact (Image: )
The Brazilian wasn’t tearing up trees and Fletcher took the opportunity to make the changes that many United fans have been asking for. Mainu was out from the start, and although the next person in charge may choose to keep him there, he never pressed for a commitment as a starter and was pulled at the one-hour mark.
Fletcher’s last dance?
Only time will tell about this. When he was first appointed as caretaker manager, there was talk of him taking charge of Burnley, but that changed this weekend. United’s pecking order appears to be moving closer to signing either Ole Gunnar Solskjær or Michael Carrick on an interim basis until the end of the season.
Fletcher is understood to have impressed senior management with his own conduct and the way he prepared his team. His results were decidedly less impressive. The club is set to take over one of his former team-mates, and it appears he hasn’t done enough to warrant handing him the reins until the end of the season.
Manchester United fans grow dissatisfied (Image: )
A gym overlooking Glaser’s territory
It looks like it’s only 10 minutes until the first anti-Sir Jim Ratcliffe chant from the Stretford End. On top of that, there were a couple of anti-Glazers chants as frustration with the club’s hierarchy and their decision-making continues to mount. The American owners tried to hide in the shadows by selling Ineos a stake and giving him control of the football side.
After several unpopular calls off the field and failures on the field and in the dugout, Ratcliffe and the Glazers seem to be equated. It was seen as a chance for a fresh start, but any good vibes that may have existed have all but disappeared, even though the United States retained overall leadership.
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