Gross gets Brighton over the line to safety

JOSE MOURINHO’S men fell flat last night as Pascal Gross’ second-half goal secured Brighton’s Premier League status for another season. Mourinho watched in frustration as Manchester United failed to get going on a night when they were matched by Chris Hughton’s battlers. And his mood would not have improved as Gross made a deserved breakthrough for Brighton in the 56th minute. Jose Izquierdo’s pace down the left stretched United and, after his initial cross was blocked, his second delivery was knocked on to the head of Gross by David de Gea. The German’s header was kicked clear from under the bar by Marcos Rojo but goal-line technology showed it had crossed the line. Mourinho had made six changes to the side that beat Arsenal last Sunday. Alexis Sanchez was taken out of the squad entirely due to what his manager would only term an ‘injury’, while Romelu Lukaku needed further treatment on the ankle problem that forced him off last weekend. Antonio Valencia, Victor Lindelof, Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard also made way, with Marouane Fellaini given a start following his winning contribution against Arsenal. Strange business, the Fellaini one. His contract is up at the end of the season and a fair chunk of United fans wouldn’t shed too many tears if he went. He’s just that kind of player, not one given to anything especially aesthetic but cherished by Mourinho in ways that reveal a lot about what the manager holds dear. There’s no doubting Mourinho would love to keep him, but it is hard to see how Fellaini can ingratiate himself to a wider array of hearts when he appeared to boast this week about the strength of his negotiating position in the stand-off. In this game, he was typically rugged. He is a nuisance, a pain, useful with those impossibly stretchy limbs and yet infuriating at times. In the space of 30 minutes in the first half, he had a goal rightly disallowed for offside and also managed to present Gross with a decent chance with a careless pass in midfield. There were also interceptions and blocks and no shortage of approving looks from Mourinho. The other notable inclusions were Matteo Darmian and Anthony Martial, for rare starts, and Marcus Rashford. With just two previous starts in 2018, it has been a hard waiting game in a World Cup year. It’s difficult to argue against Lukaku and the weight of his numbers — 27 goals in all competitions. But it’s also reasonable to ponder the effect on Rashford, a real joy of a player and yet one who seemed low on confidence here. He started well enough by winning a free-kick inside two minutes and then produced the delivery that Fellaini converted only to be called for offside. But the more instructive moment came late in the half when Lewis Dunk was caught in possession and Rashford closed on goal from the right. Martial was square and Paul Pogba was available for a cut back, but the dallying and indecision was painful to watch. Dunk recovered and with it United’s best chance of the first half was gone. United could be thankful at least for the form of De Gea. His save from Glenn Murray on 20 minutes was perhaps the best — a dive at full stretch, a finger tip. He then tipped one over from Izquierdo and smothered a shot from Gross. Alas for Mourinho, Gross would make a more telling intervention in the second half.