Brighton shock Man United to stay afloat

BRIGHTON: Brighton and Hove Albion made sure of Premier League football next season with two games to spare after a Pascal Gross goal gave them a memorable 1-0 home win over Manchester United on Friday.

It was no more than Brighton deserved after outplaying their more illustrious rivals throughout the contest and they sent a passionate home crowd into raptures after Gross headed home a 57th-minute winner.

The German forward got on the end of a sharp Jose Izquierdo cross from the left and the ball crossed the line before Marcus Rojo’s desperate attempt to keep it out.

The result lifted Brighton into 11th place on 40 points from 36 matches and left them assured of finishing above the bottom three as they visit champions Manchester City on Wednesday before their final game away to Liverpool.

United stayed second on 77 points ahead of Thursday’s trip to West Ham followed by a home game against Watford.

The result also meant that they lost this season to all three promoted teams — Brighton, Huddersfield and Newcastle United.