BRIGHTON BLANK MAN U
Brighton, May 5: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho took aim at his players for not having the required desire in a 1-0 defeat to Brighton on Friday that secured the Seagulls’ place in the Premier League next season.
Just over two weeks ahead of the FA Cup final against his old club Chelsea, United boss Mourinho made six changes and was punished as Pascal Gross’s secondhalf header secured Brighton’s first win over the Red Devils since 1982.
Chants of “We are staying up” rang around a packed house at the Amex Stadium at full-time as victory moved Brighton up to 11th and more importantly eight points clear of the bottom three. With thirdbottom Southampton and 17th-placed Swansea to meet on Tuesday, Brighton now can’t now be relegated.
“I felt that we’ve deserved to stay in this league for our season’s work,” said Brighton boss Chris Hughton.
“But if we’d lost today and the next two, it would have been a real feeling of injustice had we gone down. So relief that we’ve done it now, but I’m also really proud of a group of players,” he added.
By contrast, defeat means United must wait to secure second as they remain five points clear of Liverpool with Spurs a point further adrift.
United were without either of the injured Romelu Lukaku or Alexis Sanchez, and their firepower was missed as Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford failed to make the most of rare chances.
STOKE RELEGATED
Stoke City were relegated after crashing to a 1-2 defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Paul Lambert’s side are second bottom, three points from safety, with only one game remaining. With fourth-bottom Swansea and third-bottom Southampton playing each other in midweek, it is impossible for Stoke to collect enough points to avoid slipping into the Championship.
Stoke have spent 10 seasons in the Premier League, but a run of 13 games without a victory ensured that streak will come to an end.
Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland was in tears at the final whistle and City fans were just as emotional as the realisation of their team’s relegation sank in. Hundreds left the bet365 stadium in the closing minutes before those that remained sang “City till I die” in a defiant rallying cry.