Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Brighton: 10-Man Red Devils Crash Out of FA Cup

Darren Fletcher’s second game in charge ended in defeat, with an interim manager to be named soon.

The Red Devils suffered another disappointment on Sunday evening. / Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup with a 2–1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the third round at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

It is only the third time since 1984 that the Red Devils have exited the FA Cup at this early of a stage—Leeds United in 2009–10 and Swansea City in 2013–14 are the others—and it means their 2025–26 season will now end after just 17 more Premier League games with nothing else to play for.

Brajan Gruda gave Brighton a first-half lead that was doubled by Danny Welbeck’s clinical strike just over an hour into the tie. Benjamin Šeško scored his third goal in two games to give Darren Fletcher’s team a fighting chance of forcing extra time, but 18-year-old substitute Shea Lacey, who had otherwise impressed since coming on, was sent off near the end, ending any hope of a comeback forUnited.

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Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Brighton (4-2-3-1)

Bruno Fernandes showed up as usual. / Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by Fotmob*

GK: Senne Lammens—5.5: Got away with a poor pass out when he stopped a potential quick fire Brighton second by saving from Welbeck.

RB: Diogo Dalot—6.7: Without traditional wingers, the pressure was on both full backs to get forward and provide attacking threats in wide areas. Dalot did that early on and was denied a goal one-on-one.

CB: Leny Yoro—6.2: Favoured over Ayden Heaven for this one.

CB: Lisandro Martínez—7.2: Cleared off the line in the move that gave Brighton the early opener, but could do little about stopping the follow-up.

LB: Patrick Dorgu—6.5: In at left back after a run as a winger on either flank in recent weeks, although he certainly made to maintain an attacking presence high up the pitch. No pressure on Gruda when he set up the second Brighton goal.

CM: Kobbie Mainoo—6.9: Back after injury and in the starting lineup for the first time since Aug. 27, this was his chance to prove himself. Created multiple chances in the first half alone and will feel he warrants more opportunities in the coming weeks off the back of this.

CM: Manuel Ugarte—6.7: Felt like a fairly passive performance from the Uruguayan.

RM: Mason Mount—6.3: Lacked the quality when it mattered, although his involvement was sporadic.

AM: Bruno Fernandes—8.2: Completed more passes than anyone else on the pitch, made four chances and was the most consistently threatening player wearing red.

LM: Matheus Cunha—6.6: Preferred to drift infield rather than stick to his flank and so the heaviest concentration of touches came more centrally. Something was missing.

ST: Benjamin Šeško—7.5: The definition of a penalty area striker performance. Only touched the ball 19 times, but five were in the Brighton box and he got his third goal in two games.

Substitute	Rating (Out of 10)
Joshua Zirkzee (62’ Mainoo)	6.4
Shea Lacey (62’ Mount)	5.2
Casemiro (79’ for Ugarte)	6.6
Harry Maguire (79’ for Martínez)	6.2

Subs not used: Altay Bayındır (GK), Ayden Heaven, Tyrell Malacia, Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher.

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Brighton (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI: Jason Steele; Joël Veltman, Diego Coppola, Olivier Boscagli, Ferdi Kadıoğlu; Jack Hinshelwood, Pascal Groß; Brajan Gruda, Diego Gómez, Georginio Rutter; Danny Welbeck.

Subs used: Jan Paul van Hecke, Yasin Ayari, Kaoru Mitoma, Charalampos Kostoulas, Tom Watson.

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Player of the Match: Brajan Gruda (Brighton)

Man Utd Player of the Match: Bruno Fernandes

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Man Utd 1–2 Brighton: How it Unfolded at Old Trafford

Manchester United were frustrated at Old Trafford yet again. / Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside/Getty Images

It was a bright start from the hosts. Inside the first couple of minutes, Bruno Fernandes put Diogo Dalot though on goal, only for Jason Steele to deny the United right back. Dalot soon put another early opportunity over the bar, while Steele also saved a Fernandes free kick.

Weathering that early pressure, Brighton steadied themselves and then took the lead. The opener from Gruda saw the Seagulls play the ball from back to front, with Welbeck eventually standing the ball up from the left. The initial header from Georginio Rutter was cleared off the line by Lisandro Martínez, but it fell straight to Gruda to finish the rebound seven yards out.

It could have quicky been 2–0 to the visitors just moments later. Senne Lammens was the guilty party, gifting Brighton the ball with a slack pass and making up for his error by saving from Welbeck.

United tried to respond as, first, Šeško forced Steele into action, and an off-balance Matheus Cunha missed the target from 25 yards. Seemingly given license to get forward in open play, Martínez had a couple of opportunities that couldn’t pull his team level.

Welbeck has been haunting his former club since 2016. pic.twitter.com/apYGY8rueA

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) January 11, 2026

There was a reminder of Brighton’s threat when Welbeck hit the side netting the wrong side of the post in the closing stages of the first half, while Fernandes and Cunha both missed the target from distance before the referee signalled it was time for a break. But it would have been a source of frustration that United trailed despite dominating the stats and outperforming the visitors on xG.

Brighton had a pair of shots from outside the penalty area blocked one after the other once the game resumed. The Seagulls threatened with other efforts that went wide and Fletcher made an attacking double substitution that he hoped would get United back into the game—Joshua Zirkzee and Lacey were the players called upon. Yet, barely any sooner, they were two behind.

Gruda received the ball in plenty of space with his back to goal, around 30 yards. Astonishingly, he was afforded the time to turn and find a short pass to Welbeck, whose first touch set him for the left-footed shot that rifled past Lammens into the net.

Dorgu, guilty of not getting tight to Gruda, wanted a penalty when he went down under pressure, but it would have been a soft one. Then, Šeško headed just wide after good work from the impressive and fearless Lacey. The teenager was again the architect when Dorgu’s audacious attempt at an overhead kick ended up straight at Steele.

Lacey grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in a way that his more senior colleagues had been unable to at Old Trafford and wasn’t far away himself with a curling shot from the corner of the box. Šeško then struck straight at Steele, before eventually the growing pressure paid off.

Benjamin Šeško scored again. / Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

From a Fernandes corner with just five minutes of the 90 left, the towering Slovenian jumped with United substitute Harry Maguire and got to the ball before his teammate, heading down towards the near post and into the net.

But what was turning into a late fightback became a disaster when Lacey was given his marching orders. The youngster had not long been booked for a foul on Yasin Ayari, and his age and inexperience perhaps showed only two minutes later when he threw the ball in frustration and was shown a second yellow card for dissent.

There was still time for a headed stoppage time chance for Maguire, but Steele was equal to it.

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Man Utd vs. Brighton Half-Time Stats

Statistic	Man Utd	Brighton
Possession	62%	38%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.26	0.81
Total Shots	12	7
Shots on Target	4	3
Big Chances	2	3
Pass Accuracy	88%	80%
Fouls Committed	3	2
Corners	4	1

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Man Utd vs. Brighton Full Time Stats

Statistic	Man Utd	Brighton
Possession	60%	40%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.73	1.13
Total Shots	19	13
Shots on Target	8	4
Big Chances	2	4
Pass Accuracy	85%	81%
Fouls Committed	11	15
Corners	6	1

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