Manchester United suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday evening, with Pascal Groß’s second-half goal the difference at the Amex Stadium.
Chris Hughton’s side came unstuck to Jose Mourinho‘s men in the FA Cup in March but exacted their revenge in perfect fashion to maintain their fine run of form.
Brighton confirm Premier League status
The Seagulls’ victory over United has meant they will be playing Premier League football next season.
Brighton currently sit 12th in the table with 40 points from 36 games, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Many will have tipped Albion to struggle in their fight top-flight campaign, but they’ve proven a lot of critics wrong by sealing survival with games to spare.
Manchester United have lost to every newly-promoted club
Jose Mourinho set an ignominious record after his side went down to Brighton – Manchester United have now lost to every newly-promoted club in the Premier League this season.
The Red Devils lost 2-1 away to Huddersfield Town on October 21, 2017, suffered a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on February, 11, 2018 and have been beaten 1-0 by Brighton on May 4.
For a side wanting to challenge for the Premier League title, this is an embarrassing record to hold.
Fringe players let down Mourinho
Mourinho rested a lot of first-team players and gave those on the fringes a rare run-out. He’ll be regretting the decision as United struggled from the off and can have little complaints about the result.
Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial all started against Brighton but failed to shine at the Amex.
The Red Devils had less shots on target (3) than the Seagulls over the 90 minutes.