Man Utd crash out of FA Cup against Brighton

Manchester United’s season reached a new nadir on Sunday as the managerless Red Devils crashed out of the FA Cup following a demoralizing 2-1 defeat against Brighton. The atmosphere at Old Trafford turned toxic as the home side exited both domestic cups at the first hurdle for the first time since 1981-82, leaving a furious crowd to barrage the players with jeers.

Match report | Man Utd 1 Brighton 2 Emirates FA Cup

Brajan Gruda silenced the Stretford End with an opener in the first half before former United striker Danny Welbeck doubled the lead after the break. While Benjamin Sesko’s late reply offered a glimmer of hope, it arrived too late to save the side from a humiliating third-round exit, compounded by teenager Shea Lacey’s stoppage-time red card.

Caretaker boss Darren Fletcher has struggled to stop the rot since Ruben Amorim’s shock sacking last Monday. United are now desperate to appoint an interim manager until the end of the season, with former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick among those linked to the temporary vacancy.

The decline was personified by the 35-year-old Welbeck, a member of the 2013 title-winning squad, scoring in front of a watching Alex Ferguson. This current iteration of United has won just once in seven matches and sits a disappointing seventh in the Premier League, appearing light-years away from the Scot’s golden era.

The road ahead offers little respite for a club currently engulfed in chaos and tactical fragility. United host rivals Manchester City next weekend before traveling to face league leaders Arsenal, fixtures that threaten to deepen the crisis at a club that has now lost four of its last five home meetings with Brighton.