Manchester United hit extraordinary 111-year low after being dumped out of the FA Cup by Danny Welbeck-inspired Brighton

In what is widely expected to be interim manager Darren Fletcher’s final game in charge, United were looking to prolong their recent love affair with the FA Cup against Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton.

United - who have appeared in two of the last three finals of world football’s oldest competition, winning in 2023-24 - are reportedly deliberating over whether to appoint either Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Michael Carrick as Ruben Amorim’s successor on a caretaker basis, before choosing a permanent head coach in the summer.

However, whatever the identity of United’s next temporary boss, they will not take charge of an FA Cup fixture this season after the club bowed out of this year’s edition at the first time of asking.

Looking to avenge their 4-2 Premier League defeat at the Theatre of Dreams in October, Brighton raced into a one-goal lead after midfielder Brajan Gruda found the back of the net after just 12 minutes.

And the Seagulls, unbeaten in their previous three games beforehand, were two goals to the good when Gruda turned provider for Welbeck, who unleashed a fierce left-footed strike just after the hour mark. The 35-year-old made 142 appearances for United after emerging through the club’s youth system in 2008.

United threatened a dramatic fightback when Benjamin Sesko, who scored both goals in Wednesday’s 2-2 league draw with Burnley, was on target once again with just five minutes of normal time left to play.

But all hope was soon lost when youngster Lacey, a bright spark in recent outings against Burnley and Aston Villa, received a second yellow card after bouncing the ball in frustration following a decision which went against him. 

The 18-year-old - who was looking to impress after emerging from the substitutes bench - had previously been cautioned for a late tackle.

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After seeing their winless run in all competitions stretch to four games following the reverse against Brighton, United achieved an unwanted, centuries-long statistic.

With the 20-time league champions out of both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, the club can now only play 40 matches this season, which will be their lowest amount of games played since the 1914-15 campaign (39).

For reference, United competed in 60 fixtures last season, having reached the Europa League final, the League Cup quarter-finals and the fifth round of the FA Cup, in addition to the 38-game Premier League campaign.

With United poised to name either Solskjaer or Carrick as their new caretaker manager next week, they will then look to bounce back from the Brighton defeat when they entertain bitter rivals Manchester City in the derby on Saturday, 17 January.

While United may be out of both domestic cup competitions, they still have plenty to play for in the league, with the club currently seventh in the table and just three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Speaking after the loss against Brighton, United interim boss Fletcher said: “You can see that the players are fragile and they need to build themselves up because it’s up to them now – they have got to respond. Confidence is one of the most powerful things in football. When you don’t have confidence you have to dig deep – and you have to battle, grind, fight, work, win games – and then the confidence comes back.

“True character reveals itself in difficult times and we learned a lot about the players. They have to dig in, show they want to be part of Man United’s future and ultimately if you are not, I don’t think you should be here. They are experienced players, talented players and I challenge them to regroup. It’s over to them.

“Someone is going to come in and lead them [as caretaker boss], they need to make sure they have a lot to play for this season. This team is still good enough to achieve success this season but they have got to dig deep and find a way within themselves.”