Manchester United, who recently sacked Ruben Amorim and are now searching for a caretaker manager in his place, have crashed out of the FA Cup at the third round stage at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion. In the wake of defeat, the Old Trafford faithful are beginning to lose patience with an Amorim signing, who has been a 'waste of money'.
It took the visitors just 12 minutes to open the scoring through German livewire Brajan Gruda, who pounced on a penalty box scramble and prodded home beyond Senne Lammens. Danny Welbeck, formerly of United, then doubled their lead in the 64th minute.
Welbeck's strike against his former employers was the pick of the bench, of course, but Benjamin Sesko did well to rise above the rest and nod home United's first (and only) goal with six minutes of regulation time left on the clock. To put the icing on the cake, United were reduced to ten men after Shea Lacey's 89th-minute red card.
Ruben Amorim Signing Flatters to Deceive as Man Utd Crash Out of FA Cup to Brighton
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In what was a memorable encounter (albeit for all the wrong reasons) for United, there were very few players who impressed on Old Trafford turf. Kobbie Mainoo, starting for the first time since that Grimsby Town defeat, performed well given the circumstances and Sesko took his goal well after a busy performance at the sharp end of the pitch.
Matheus Cunha, though, was not at his best and that came to the detriment to United's chance of securing passage into the next round of football's oldest competition of all time.
Arriving for a fee of £62.5 million from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer, there was plenty of excitement surrounding Cunha – and that's because he fitted perfectly into Amorim's 3-4-3 system, where he'd played in either No.10 spot.
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A move back to a four-at-the-back system and things aren't working well for the Brazilian, who would fit much better in a two-striker alongside Sesko. That would raise problems, though, for one of Bryan Mbeumo or Amad and that is something that match-goers (and even those at home) would not like to see.
Since his intra-Premier League switch, Cunha has plundered five goal involvements (four goals and one assist) in 20 matches across all competitions – and he looks a shadow of his Molineux self.
Stationed off the left against Brighton, Cunha took a total of three shots (none of which were on target) and just three of his 63 touches were inside the visiting side's penalty box. Always looking to push and prod, often to the detriment of his side, half of his dribbles (3/6) were successful, and he won 53% (9/17) of his ground duels.
Matheus Cunha's 2025/26 Premier League Stats vs Man Utd Squad
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Some time to recuperate on the bench is what the 26-year-old, who put pen to paper on a contract until the summer of 2030, needs. Amad and Mbeumo are currently en route back to Manchester after crashing out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and Fletcher must re-jig the frontline to include them both.
'Disgustingly Sickening' – Man Utd Fans Complain About Cunha After Brighton Display
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The consensus of the United fanbase is similar. Cunha was initially viewed as a significant upgrade on the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford... but that is no longer the case. "There’s no real difference between Garnacho and Cunha, both selfish as f***," one said as another added: "Cunha isn’t even an upgrade on Garnacho let alone Rashford. What a waste of money."
"Cunha’s second half has been disgustingly sickening," one said as another insisted an 'honest conversation' is needed over the Brazilian, who has 19 Brazil caps to his name. "Honest conversation about Matheus Cunha needed. Absolutely s****," they wrote as another remains confused over what his best position is under Fletcher.
"We’re so f***** with Cunha. Not a left-winger, not good enough to be our main 10, not a striker. Where do we use him then?"
"Cunha is an offensive footballer (he offends me every time he plays)," a fourth member of the Old Trafford faithful commented, before another fan added that his first touch is worrying: "I can't do it anymore with these Cunha trampoline touches. This is horrible."
A frustrating player, of course, what made Cunha such an attractive prospect during his Wolves spell was his ability to produce a moment of magic from nothing; and that was evident in his competitive United debut against Arsenal. Things have been pretty tough since but his work rate means he has every chance of recovering back to his best.
All statistics per WhoScored – correct as of 12/01/2026