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Manchester United’s poor away form continued as they lost through virtually the last kick of the game against Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday.
The hosts won a last-minute penalty for a Luke Shaw handball and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister coolly slotted it past David de Gea.
United’s away record against the top-nine is dismal with seven losses out of eight and one draw and no wins.
It was a fair result in the end as the Seagulls completely dominated the second-half with the Red Devils hardly managing to stitch an attack together.
The first-half was a much more even affair with the visitors getting four presentable chances to score with Antony, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial all conspiring to miss.
Brighton also created numerous chances with United’s No 1 keeping them at bay. How the 20-time English league champions are crying out for a clinical finisher.
Antony’s opening chance was a gilt-edged one while Rashford is not the best when it comes to finishing. As for the Frenchman, he hardly worked the entire game and was still kept on due to the dearth of options on the bench.
It was a dogged defensive display at times from Erik ten Hag’s side in the closing stages but they were undone by a penalty in the end.
The Dutch boss has tended to play the same team more or less over the course of the season and most players have run out of legs.
And unfortunately, he does not have quality options in all areas to change things late on in games. And his recent gambles like Fred on Thursday are also failing to have the desired impact.
If United do not score and put the game to bed in the first-half, they end up collapsing in the second. The same script has repeated itself in the Europa League game against Sevilla and Tottenham recently.
In the end, it almost seemed like they were playing for a draw, a cardinal sin at this stage of the competition.
The loss means United remain fourth, now only four points ahead of arch-rivals Liverpool who are in fifth and have played a game more than the Old Trafford side.
United remain on the road as they travel to face West Ham on Sunday knowing that a win is essential to keep them in the top four.
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