Recap

Brighton & Hove Albion will play in the UEFA Conference League next season, despite a 3-0 home defeat by Manchester United on the final day.

The Seagulls have finished eighth, above Brentford on goal difference, to secure European football for the first time since 2023/24.

It was a day where Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes made history in the Premier League as he recorded his 21st assist of the season, the most by any player in a single campaign. The Red Devils skipper registered the assist when Patrick Dorgu headed home his 33rd-minute corner.

Bryan Mbeumo finished a super United move in style just a minute before the break for their second goal, and to further dent Brighton’s chances of securing a win that could have earned a UEFA Champions League spot if other results went their way too. 

The Seagulls’ race was run by the time Fernandes capped a memorable day with a goal of his own after 48 minutes, and it was only smart goalkeeping from Bart Verbruggen that denied Man Utd further goals. 

United, who appointed Michael Carrick on a full-time basis this week, end the season in third place, while Brighton slip to eighth – still enough for Conference League football. 

How the match unfolded

Brighton started brightly, with Maxim De Cuyper bending a low effort past the right-hand post after 20 minutes. 

But Fernandes’ record-breaking moment arrived in the 33rd minute, as Dorgu met his pinpoint corner with a thumping header off the underside of the crossbar. 

Luke Shaw then lashed one past the left-hand post before the lead was doubled when Mbeumo tapped home at the end of a beautifully worked move involving Amad and Mason Mount. 

Fernandes got himself on the scoresheet by drilling into the bottom-left corner from Dorgu’s layoff – the goal standing despite an initial offside call against the latter. 

United turned the screw, and Verbruggen denied Dorgu one-on-one before thwarting the winger again shortly after parrying Amad’s stinging drive. 

Despite the defeat, the Seagulls are still heading for Europe for just the second time in their history next season. They finished ahead of Brentford on goal difference, with an eighth-place finish meaning they have booked a spot in the Conference League.