Seagulls soar to Premier League survival

Jose Mourinho made six changes to his starting lineup, the most surprising of which saw Alexis Sanchez left behind in Manchester, not even in the squad on Friday night. The Portuguese made six changes in all, with Matteo Darmian, Marcus Rojo, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and last week's match-winner Marouane Fellaini joining Rashford in the side, who came in for the injured Lukaku.

Brighton saw Davy Propper return from suspension and Glenn Murray retake a place in the starting lineup, as Chris Hughton stuck with nine of the players who drew with Burnley last week.

The first half was a drab affair with neither side really looking like they came out of second gear. Both ‘keepers were tested by long range efforts, with de Gea performing his usual theatrics to keep the ball out of the net. Marcus Rashford had a vicious volley blocked at the other end.

The ‘Seagulls’ got their goal 12 minutes after the restart after some good play by Izquierdo down the left. He beat Darmian and clipped a ball to the far post that was met on the run by Pascal Gross. Marcos Rojo got a block on it but the referee got the buzz on his watch seconds later confirming it had gone over the line and the goal was given.

 

4 May 2018

The away side continued to look blunt up front as they searched for an equaliser with the clock ticking down. Paul Pogba saw a few tame efforts saved while Juan Mata fired a free kick over the bar in a very good position. But as the final whistle drew nearer every clearance and block was cheered on by a raucous home crowd, and the scenes were jubilant at full time.

Chris Hughton will be rightly praised for getting the maximum out of his team this season. Some astute transfers on a limited budget mean that Brighton will once again play against the top teams next season, and Jose Mourinho must be left wondering what could be if only he could get the same levels of commitment from his players.

 

4 May 2018