Manchester United suffered an early blow in this season’s Premier League title race as they went down 3-2 to Brighton and Hove Albion at Amex Stadium on Sunday.
First-half goals from Glenn Murray, Shane Duffy and Pascal Gross gave the hosts a third league win in a row against the Red Devils on home soil, a run that stretches back to 1982.
Romelu Lukaku got on the scoresheet for the first time this season, while Paul Pogba converted an injury-time penalty, but the victory was no more than Brighton deserved, with Jose Mourinho’s side poor throughout.
Brighton took control in the first half-hour thanks to two goals in the space of 143 seconds, with Murray clipping a delightful finish past David de Gea before Duffy swept home after United failed to clear a corner.
Lukaku, who missed a golden chance at 0-0, nodded in a lifeline for his side but more slack defending saw Eric Bailly bring down Gross, who dispatched his penalty a minute before the break.
With Alexis Sanchez missing the game through injury, Mourinho introduced Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard at half-time, but there was little improvement to their attacking display and Pogba’s finish from the spot came too late to rescue a result.
The defeat means champions Manchester City have already stolen a march on their neighbours in the title race, after they thrashed Huddersfield Town 6-1 earlier on to make it two wins from two.
