Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round on Sunday, falling to a familiar face in the blue and white of Brighton & Hove Albion. It was the second, and potentially final, match in charge for interim manager Darren Fletcher, and unfortunately, also the end of United’s hope for a meaningful push in knockout competition this season.
The Reds had a positive start to the match, registering a couple of shots on target. The first fell to Diogo Dalot on one of his trademark runs in behind on the end of a long ball over the top, and it got the trademark finish from Dalot as well (totally fumbling a 1v1 opportunity against the goalkeeper). Bruno Fernandes had a set-piece opportunity, seeing his free kick saved in the seventh minute, and from there, the pressure relaxed.
Brighton got on the scoresheet first with Gruda finishing a move sparked by Danny Welbeck taking the ball down the left to the byline. The initial cross led to a shot blocked on the line by Lisandro Martinez, but the rebound fell kindly for Gruda to steer back on target and beat both Martinez and Senne Lammens for 1-0.
The flow of play went back into United’s favor for the most part, though Lammens nearly gifted Brighton a goal on a poor giveaway. Even with a large chunk of possession, United struggled to progress the ball.
Fletcher waited until the hour mark to make changes, withdrawing Mainoo and Mount for Joshua Zirkzee and Shea Lacey, and though it was a Carrington player who scored the next goal, it was not one wearing red.
Welbeck capitalized on a quick look at goal, receiving a pass across his body onto his left foot, controlling with one touch and firing past Lammens with his next.
The great crisis of having to watch Manuel Ugarte play football finally came to an end in the 78th minute with the arrival of Casemiro, and emergency striker Harry Maguire made his return from injury in relief of Lisandro Martinez. The energy started to kick on a bit more after that, at least somewhat at the urging of the crowd as well as the interim manager, and the hope returned a bit as well.
Lacey saw a shot brush the top of the net, hit a bit too high and central, and a few minutes later, Sesko finally got a header to fall off of a corner kick. He and Maguire both attacked at the back post, with four defenders on them, and the Slovenian forward still managed to steer the ball just inside the post.
The momentum was stunted just before the 90th minute as Lacey was sent off for a second yellow card for dissent. He correctly objected to a throw-in decision after a Brighton player touched the ball last, but he threw the ball at the ground in protest to earn the second yellow.
A last push saw Maguire go forward and win a header down, but Steele easily collected.
The loss means that United will not play for a trophy this season, barring some miracle Premier League run, and failed to win a single match in knockout competition this season, losing to Grimsby in their League Cup match back in August.
The Reds return to action on Saturday against Manchester City at Old Trafford in the Premier League. Whether it will be Fletcher, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, or some other fourth option remains to be seen.