More from Jose: Having told Geoff Shreeves that he thinks some of his players don’t care whether Manchester United finish second or third in the league, he seems to single out Marcus Rashford for a bit of a roasting. “People always ask ‘Why always Lukaku? Why always Lukaku? Why also Lukaku?’. Well, now they know why always Lukaku? And why always this player and why always that player.”
Jose Mourinho speaks: “It was not good enough,” he tells Sky Sports. “The players that replaced others didn’t perform at a good level. When individuals don’t perform at a good level, it’s difficult for the team to perform at a good level. My players will tell you that before the match I knew what was going to happen and I told them. At half-time I knew what was going to happen. I knew it and I told them.”
Match report: Brighton 1-0 Manchester United
Dominic Fifield was the Guardian’s man in the Amex Stadium press-box to see Brighton secure their safety with a win over Manchester United. Here’s his on-the-whistle report.
Chris Hughton speaks: Speaking to Kelly Cates and Gary Neville on Sky Sports, the Brighton manager says he thought every one of his players was “brilliant” tonight. “Every now and again you get one of those performances where he rises above his natural level,” he says of Anthony Knockaert. “He’s a player for the big arena.” He also says that he knew his teamwould be able to compete in the Premier League this season after seeing them play in their first three or four games.
A lap of appreciation for Brighton: Brighton’s players, backroom staff and assorted wives, girlfriends and children come out to take the applause of their fans after securing their Premier League status for another season.
More pre-match reading ...
Two years ago the clubs stood for the first time on the same rung of the footballing ladder but next season Wimbledon will look down on MK Dons from League One
Anthony Knockaert speaks: “The effort from the boys all night was magnificent,” he says in an interview with Sky Sports. “That’s a night we’ll remember all our lives because to stay up at home against Manchester United is a special feeling.”
Pascal Gross speaks: “I’m not sure,” he says, when he’s asked if he thought his header crossed the line.
Some post-match reading: Barney Ronay has been musing on Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, what a “much-cherished colleague” I am (although not necessarily much cherished by me) and how wrong he was for dismissing my theory that Spurs are mentally week in a recent episode of Football Weekly. Read on ...
Fun fact: Brighton central defender Shane Duffy holds the record for the number of headed clearances in a Premier League season with 221 and counting.
Fun fact: Manchester United have now lost away from home to all three promoted sides this season. They also lost to West Brom, who might well be relegated tomorrow.
Stay tuned for post-match reaction and our report from the Amex Stadium. Just 28.3 millimetres - that’s how far over the line Pascal Gross’s headed goal went over the line, according to the good folks at HawkEye. At the final whistle, the music from the Great Escape blared out over the tannoy as some of Brighton’s players were mobbed by a handful of pitch invaders. All involved are delighted with themselves. Defeat for Manchester United doesn’t really amount to a hill of beans, but Jose Mourinho looked decidedly unimpressed with his team’s dreadful performance tonight. It will be interesting to hear his post-match musings.
Full-time: Brighton 1-0 Manchester United
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeep! It’s all over and Brighton have won on the back of an outstanding performance. Manchester United made life fairly easy for them with a dire collective performance, but Brighton deserve no end of credit for this win. They’ll be playing Premier League football agains next season.
90+3 min: “We are staying up!” chant Brighton’s supporters. It’s quite an achievement for the Seagulls and one few thought they’d pull off. That said, if Manchester United are the second best team in England, it speaks volumes about the quality of the 18 teams beneath them.
90+2 min: Brighton substitution: Leonarodo Ulloa on for Glenn Murray, who’s been terrific tonight despite not getting the goal his performance deserved.
90 min: There’ll be another four minutes of this dross. Without wanting to tempt fate, Manchester United look like they could play for another four hours and not score. They have been spectacularly awful tonight and it would be a travesty if Brighton left this pitch with anything less than three points for a well-earned win.
88 min: Brighton substitution: Solly March on for Jose Izquierdo, who leaves the pitch with the assist for Pascal Gross’s goal to his name.
86 min: Jessie Lingard misses a sitter under pressure from Shane Duffy, who slides in to challenge as the substitute looks certain to finish an incisive attacking move.
83 min: Paul Pogba unleashes a speculative shot from distance, but it fizzes over the bar. Brighton substitution: Pascal Gross off, Beram Kayal on.
81 min: Brighton fans mark the 80th minute with sustained applause for their club’s president, Dick Knight, whose birthday it is today. “Happy 80th birthday, Mr President!” reads one banner that’s unfurled, while a number of fans can be seen wearing slightly sinister Dick Knight masks.
79 min: A delivery across the edge of the Brighton penalty area by Juan Mata drops for Anthony Martial, who catches it on the valley. The sarcastic cheer from Brighton fans tells you all you need to know.
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77 min: “If United continue like this for the next 15 minutes, [Jose Mourinho] won’t have to explain to anyone who’s been given a chance tonight why they’re not playing the FA Cup final,” says Gary Neville in the Sky gantry as Brighton continue to turn the screw. “He can just make them watch the video of this match.” It’s certainly not one I’d like to have to sit through again.
75 min: Anthony Martial attempts to curl the ball around Ryan’s outstretched arm and into the top corner, but the ball floats narrowly wide. It was a decent effort. Manchester United substitution: Marcos Rocco off, Scott McTominay on.
72 min: Cutting in from the left, Izquierdo tries to tee up Dale Stephens on the edge of the penalty area, but his pass is cut out and Manchester United clear their lines. Scott McTominay is readying himself on the touchline and about to enter the fray for Manchester United.
72 min: Mat Ryan saves two long range efforts in quick succession, the first from Marcus Rashford, the second through a thicket of bodies from Jessie Lingard.
70 min: Knockaert, who has been excellent, tries to play Jose Izquierdo in behind with a long punt into space behind Ashley Young. The Manchester United left-back has the legs on the Colombian and gets back to tidy up.
69 min: Manchester United double-substitution: Jessie Lingard and Luke Shaw on, Matteo Darmian and Marouane Fellaini off.
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68 min: Juan Mata takes the free-kick, but curls his effort over the cross-bar.
67 min: Pascal Gross is booked for a shove on Juan Mata on the edge of the Brighton penalty area. Free-kick for Manchester United on the right side of the D.
66 min: The ball falls to Izquierdo, who drives a low, rasping shot a couple of feet wide of the left upright.
64 min: Brighton drive forward with Knockaert on the ball, taking on and beating all comers. Just inside the Manchester United penalty area, he gets the ball stuck under his feet, but Glenn Murray takes over. His shot goes out for a corner.
62 min: Brighton appeal for a penalty when Knockaert goes down under a challenge from Anthony Martial in the penalty area. Pawson looks to his linesman for advise, but appears to get none. Replays of the incident prove fairly inconclusive.
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61 min: Bruno is played in behind the Manchester United defence but his attempted pull-back across the area is blocked by Rojo.
60 min: Brighton lead as they attempt to beat Manchester United for only the second time in their history. There was an element of good fortune about their goal, which almost certainly wouldn’t or couldn’t have been given without goal-line technology.
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Manchester United (Gross 57)
Pascal Gross gets on the end of a Jose Izquierdo cross and heads goalwards at the far post. Marcos Rojo appears to perform miracles to acrobatically clear the ball off the line, but seconds later, referee Craig Pawson consults his goal-line technology gizmo and awards the goal. Brighton lead and it’s no more than they deserve.
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Meanwhile in tonight’s Scottish Premier League play-off ...
Dundee Utd equalise against Dunfermline. Their goalie Deniz Mehmet celebrates at the other end with a somersault but injures himself and is carted off. What price sub keeper Harry Lewis to be the hero in a penalty shoot-out now?
— Roger Hannah (@Hannahnaman) May 4, 2018
53 min: Knockaert advances through the centre and unleashes a shot that screams over the bar. Brighton are awarded a corner as the ball appeared to graze the shirt of Chris Smalling on the way out of play.
51 min: In the Sky commentary gantry, Gary Neville is complaining about Marouane Fellaini dropping too deep and being unable to influence the game. He needs to let Matic do that and get further forward where he can influence play, is the gist.
49 min: Manchester United work the ball over and back across the field with a series of neat, short passes. They eventually tee up Paul Pogba for a shot, who threatens to wrong-foot Mat Ryan with a low drive towards the near post from the edge of the area. The Brighton goalkeeper gets down to make the save.
47 min: Glenn Murray is shown a yellow card - the first of the evening - by referee Craig Pawson for a hack on Marouane Fellaini.
Second half: Brighton 0-0 Manchester United
46 min: Brighton get the second half started, still needing three points from their remaining games to absolutely guarantee their Premier League safety. Strangely, Jose Mourinho has elected not to replace any of the players who were so awful in the first half. He had no shortage to choose from.
Half-time: Brighton 0-0 Manchester United
A fairly dull first half draws to a close. It’s scoreless at the AMex Stadium and, while they can be pleased with their night’s work so far, Brighton will be disappointed not to have taken advantage of Manchester United’s lethargy. Jose Mourinho is clearly furious with his team’s performance, so I’d say we can expect changes in personnel after the break.
44 min: bong returns to action as Ryan boots the ball downfield and out for a United throw-in. There’ll be one minute of added time before what looks like an incandescent Jose Mourinho lacerates his players in what I suspect will be the mother of all dressing-room rants. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have been particularly atrocious, while I’d forgotten Juan Mata was on the pitch until he got a mention from Sky co-comms man Gary Neville a few moments ago. United’s front trio are not alone in having failed to impress - Dale Stephens has Paul Pogba in his pocket, while David De Gea is arguably the only United player to have emerged with any credit.
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43 min: The ball is arced in again, half-cleared and Mat Ryan claims confidently under pressure. There’s a break in play as Gaetan Bong gets treatment for a foot injury.
41 min: Marcus Rashford wins a corner for his side as half-time approaches. The ball’s floated in to the penalty area and promptly goes out for another corner off the head of Lewis Dunk, who is tasked with marking Marouane Fellaini.
38 min: Marcus Rashford chases a ball into space down by the corner flag, prompting Mat Ryan to dash out of his penalty area. The players collide, the ball goes out of play and Rashford appeals for a free-kick in the area between touchline and penalty area. He doesn’t get one and smacks the ground in frustration.
37 min: Marcos Rojo larrups the ball forward from the left-back position, but Shane Duffy is on hand to head it back from whence it came. He’s looked solid as rock tonight.
35 min: Knockaert plays Pascal Gross in behind the Manchester United defence, but the Brighton winger is unable to dink the ball over De Gea from a tight angle. Brighton win a corner, from which nothing comes. On the touchline, Mourinho is going into meltdown mode, scarcely able to believe how badly his team is performing. It’s difficult to blame him - they’re getting progressively more inept at the very basics as the half progresses.
30 min: According to Geoff Shreeves, Sky’s man on the touchline, Jose Mourinho is furious with Marcus Rashford for not squaring the ball for Anthony Martial a couple of minutes ago. During the most recent break in play he made his fury known in no uncertain terms, taking the player to one side and giving him a rollocking. If this is Rashford’s audition for a place in the FA Cup final starting line-up, it’s not going too well.
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28 min: A corner for Brighton after David De Gea is forced to tip a Jose Izquierdo drive from distance over the bar. The ball’s floated in to the penalty area and flicked towards the far post, but Glenn <Murray can’t poke it home despite shaking off his marker and stretching every sinew.
27 min: Marcus Rashford makes a dog’s breakfast of a presentable chance for Un ited, electing to try his luck from a ridiculously narrow angle after eschewing the chance to pick out Anthony Martial with a pull-back from the byline. On the touchline, Jose Mourinho rages.
25 min: Lewis Dunk it was who blocked that Rashford howitzer with his head. Such was the power of the shot that it knocked him clean off his feet. As he walks away, manfully trying to pretend it didn’t really, really hurt, you can see cartoon budgies chirruping around his head.
24 min: Paul Pogba arcs a cross into the Brighton penalty area, which is headed clear by Shane Duffy. Marcus Rashford unleashes a fierce volley by way of a follow-up, but his effort is blocked.
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20 min: So close! Davy Propper tees up Glenn Murray, who unleashes a venomous shot from five or six yards outside the penalty area that David De Gea does exceptionally well to palm around the upright for a corner. The ball bounced once ... twice in front of Murray and he caught it right on the sweet spot.
18 min: From the Guardian’s Brighton-supporting horse-racing correspondent, who is currently on assignment in the USA. Don’t worry, Greg. I’ve got you covered.
Brighton match came up on four different screens in the Churchill Downs press room … then someone went round and turned all of them off. Racing coverage only apparently. #d’oh
— Greg Wood (@Greg_Wood_) May 4, 2018
15 min: De Gea, Matic and Pogba combine to get the ball up the centre to the edge of the final third. A vaguely promising period of possession breaks down when Pogba hoiks the ball out for a goal-kick. No fan of Pogba’s penchant for colouring his hair, Garth Crooks will be nodding approvingly tonight when he sees the uncharacteristically dull matt-grey finish atop theManchester United midfielder’s barnet.
13 min: From the edge of the United penalty area, Pascal Gross shoots through the legs of Nemanja Matic and brings a smart save out of David De Gea, who is forced to dive low down to his left. A decent effort from the man voted Brighton fans’ Player of the Year.
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11 min: United have started quite brightly, with Knockaert and Izquierdo looking particularly lively for the home side. They win a throw-in deep in United territory, but end up working the ball all the way back to their own goalkeeper, Mat Ryan.
11 min: Having been slipped into a pocket of space in the Manchester United penalty area by Knockaert, Jose Izquierdo has a shot blocked.
9 min: Lewis Dunk plays a cross-field pass to Anthony Knockaert on the right touchline, halfway inside the Manchester United half. This is white-knuckle stuff.
7 min: After a sustained period of Brighton pressure, the ball breaks for Dale Stephens on the edge of the Manchester United penalty area. He pulls a low drive a foot or so wide of the upright.
6 min: Glenn Murray chases a long ball forward and goes down in a tangle with Chris Smalling on the edge of the Manchester United penalty area. Both players get further entangled as they try to get to their feet and burst out laughing. Brighton’s fans appealed for a free-kick, but their centre-forward did not.
4 min: Brighton survive an early scare as they try to feel their way into this match. As they try to play the ball out from the back they win a free-kick just inside their own half for a foul on Glenn Murray.
2 min: Anthony Knockaert concedes a free-kick on the edge of the Manchester United penalty area for a foul on Marcus Rashford. It’s well left of centre and Rashford whips the ball towards the far post. Marouane Fellaini gets a touch and fires the ball past Mat Ryan. As he wheels away in celebration, the linesman flags for offside.
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2 min: Shane Duffy gets an early touch with a meaty header just inside his own half.
Brighton v Manchester United is go ...
1 min: Marcus Rashford lines up as centre-forward for Manchester United and gets the ball rolling. United get forward, but Paul Pogba puts the ball out for a throw-in as Anthony Knockaert wins possession back for Brighton.
Not long now: The teams are out on the Amex Stadium pitch for the last of the pre-match formalities on a warm evening in Brighton. Kick off is just moments away.
Fun fact: The last time Manchester United played at Brighton, David Beckham made his debut for the club, coming on as a substitute for Andrei Kanchelskis. On Sky Sports, punditry’s Gary Neville points that he made his debut a week previously.
Propper returns for Brighton
Davy Propper goes straight back into the Brighton line-up after serving a three-match ban for the straight red card he was shown for a foul on Huddersfield Town’s Jonathan Hogg. He’ll line up alongside Dale Stephens, while Beram Kayal drops to the bench.
Alexis Sanchez is a conspicuous absentee from Manchester United’s match-day squad, while Matteo Darmian makes a rare start in their defence. Anthony Martial also gets a chance to shine.
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Brighton v Manchester United line-ups
Brighton: Ryan, Saltor, Dunk, Duffy, Bong, Knockaert, Propper, Stephens, Izquierdo, Gross, Murray.
Subs: Kayal, Ulloa, Goldson, March, Schelotto, Locadia, Krul.
Man Utd: de Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Rojo, Young, Fellaini, Matic, Pogba, Mata, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Lindelof, Bailly, Lingard, Romero, Ander Herrera, Shaw, McTominay.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
Some pre-match reading ...
Barnet need to beat Chesterfield tomorrow and hope Morecambe lose against Coventry City if they are to avoid relegation from the Football League. I spoke their owner Tony Kleanthous yesterday and it is fair to say he’s a bag of nerves.
Friday night's alright for ... writing
Greetings one and all. Your penultimate Premier League weekend kicks off here with Brighton entertaining Manchester United as they attempt to beat them for only the second time since time itself began. Not yet completely safe from relegation, Brighton may need another point or two to guarantee their Premier League status for another season. Manchester United need two points from their final three fixtures to cement their status as the second best team in both Manchester and the UK.
Kick-off is at 8pm (BST), but stay tuned for team news and build-up. If you fancy some pre-match listening, you could do worse than download the latest edition of our Football Weekly podcast, in which Jonathan Wilson discusses his Silent Witness obsession and recounts his most recent attack at the claws and beak of an angry Wearside-based crow.
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