Former centre-back John O'Shea described Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion as the "lowest point" in Manchester United's forgettable 2021/22 campaign.
After showing green shoots of recovery in Monday's 3-0 win over Brentford at Old Trafford, United were brought back down to earth with a bang on the south coast, producing a shambolic performance. Trailing 1-0 at half-time through Moises Caicedo's first Brighton goal, United collapsed in dramatic fashion following the half-time break.
First, Marc Cucurella fired a fierce effort past David de Gea before Pascal Gross danced his way through the defence to put Graham Potter's side 3-0 up. Leandro Trossard completed the rout, bundling in the Seagulls' fourth on the hour mark.
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Defeat on the south coast marked United's fifth in succession on the road, meaning their Champions League aspirations for next season are now officially over. The club, realistically, cannot finish any higher than sixth with just one game left to play.
But it isn't the defeat to Potter's troops that has spelt the end of the club's hopes of competing in Europe's premier club competition next season, it is a series of similar defeats that have cost United so dearly, such as the defeats to Liverpool (5-0, 4-0) Leicester City (4-2) Watford (4-1), Everton (1-0) and Manchester City (2-0, 4-1). They have been shambolic for much of the season, but in O'Shea's eyes, this was a new low.
"A bad day all round," O'Shea told United's club website. "A low point, there's obviously been a few this season but I think that's the lowest.
"For the new manager coming in, for him to see that, it gives him such a clear template of what is needed. Brighton are obviously a decent team, at home, played with intensity and they ran all over us today."
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