Key events
Thirty-one ties down, one to go. That’s Liverpool v Barnsley tomorrow, after which the draw for the fourth will take placee.
Brajan Gruda’s reaction
I’m very happy – it’s the first time I have won at Old Trafford. We had a good day, we really enjoyed it and I can see the fans enjoyed it as well!
Steeley dominated the game and we’re very happy to have him in goal.
The belief is always there. Everyone believes in each other and we can achieve anything.
The final whistle brings first boos and then an eerie silence at Old Trafford. United didn’t play terribly, in truth, but Brighton were more clinical and ultimately deserved their victory. Brajan Gruda put them ahead in the first half, then set up a superb second for the United old boy Danny Welbeck.
Benjamin Sesko gave United hope with a late header before the teenage substitute Shea Lacey – who enlivened the game when he came on – was sent off for two yellow cards.
Full time: Man Utd 1-2 Brighton
Another slice of history for Brighton, who have beaten Manchester United in the FA Cup for the first time.
90+4 min Ninety seconds remaining, give or take.
90+3 min Maguire and Kostoulas are booked for some nonsense.
90+2 min: Brighton substitution There will be five minutes of added time. Tom Watson has just come on for Brajan Gruda.
89 min: Shea Lacey sent off
A horrible moment for the United teenager Shea Lacey, who has been shown a second yellow card for dissent. He was penalised for a challenge on Kadioglu and slammed the ball into the ground in frustration. The referee Simon Hooper had no choice.
Lacey walks off to applause, a bit like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against Newcastle all those years ago. He’ll learn from it and looks like one of the more exciting prospect to emerge at United in recent years.
87 min Lacey overruns the ball and then takes out Ayari, a poor challenge for which he is booked. It was overzealous rather than malicious but he led with his studs; it might have been one for VAR were this a Premier League game.
GOAL! Man Utd 1-2 Brighton (Sesko 85)
Hello. Bruno Fernandes curls an inswinging corner from the left, looking for the twin towers of Maguire and Sesko beyond the far post. Sesko grapples with the defender and forces a downward header that slithers under Steele and into the net.
84 min: Brighton substitution Charalampos Kostoulas replaces Georginio Rutter.
83 min This is one of those games, as the cliche goes, that has been decided in both boxes. United have probably been the better team in the middle third but that’s not much good to anybody when you’re 2-0 down. Brighton have been more ruthless, a quality we usually expect of the bigger club in FA Cup ties.
82 min This is United’s best spell of the second half. That’s not saying much, admittedly, but if they can find a goal it’ll set up a testosterone-fuelled finale.
81 min A crisp chest-volley from Sesko on the edge of the area is too close to Steele.
80 min Casemiro drags the ball deliberately into the path of Lacey, who lofts a curling shot on the run from the edge of the area. It ripples the roof of the net but it’s another sign of Lacey’s imagination and confidence; he looks one to watch.
79 min: Double substitution for Man Utd Maybe not. Harry Maguire and Casemiro replace Lisandro Martinez and Manuel Ugarte. This is Maguire’s first appearance since early November.
78 min Brighton have switched to a back three, it says here. Maybe it was a pre-emptive change because Harry Maguire is about to come on, possibly as a striker.
77 min: Triple substitution for Brighton Kaoru Mitoma, Jan Paul ven Hecke and Yasin Ayari replace Diego Gomez, Joel Veltman and Danny Welbeck, who loves scoring an FA Cup goal at Old Trafford.
76 min It looks like Man Utd are going to join a list of big clubs who have already gone out of the FA Cup: Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Everton, Nottm Forest, Bournemouth.
74 min Fernandes’s cross is headed up in the air at the far post. Dorgu launches into an eye-catching scissor kick but the ball bounces straight into Steele’s arm.
74 min Kadioglu hoofs over the bar from distance.
73 min The teenage substitute Lacey looks lively and fearless, and you know when he’s on the ball because that’s the only time the home crowd are getting excited at the moment.
71 min This would be Brighton’s first win over Man Utd in the FA Cup, and their fourth in the last five visits to Old Trafford.
Since you asked, the last time United went out in the third round of this competition was under David Moyes in 2013-14. They lost at home to Swansea on that occasion.
70 min “I know it’s between The Baby-Faced Assassin and Michael Carrick to get the job,” writes Peadar De Burca, “but don’t United only win the league with a Scottish manager?”
Are you suggesting they’re still in this season’s title race?
69 min Excellent play from Lacey, who beats Rutter and lifts a cross towards Sesko near the penalty spot. His downward header bounces a few yards wide of the far post. It was a pretty good effort as he had to move away from goal to meet the cross.
67 min It’s very quiet at Old Trafford now. Defeat today doesn’t mean United’s season is over, as there are European places to play for, but it would mean another season without a trophy.
Brighton cut United apart with two passes. Veltman, near the halfway line on the right, clipped a sharp pass into Gruda, who had taken up a good position between Dorgu and Martinez 30 yards from goal. Gruda turned and slipped an angled pass to Welbeck, who veered away from Yoro on the edge of the area and arrowed a left-foot shot into the roof of the net. The defending wasn’t great – that’s being kind – but it was such a clean, clinical move from Brighton.
GOAL! Man Utd 0-2 Brighton (Welbeck 64)
Danny Welbeck makes it two with a superb goal!
62 min: Double substitution for Man Utd Joshua Zirkzee and Shea Lacey replace Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount. Fernandes will drop a bit deeper.
60 min Mainoo, who has had a fairly quiet game on his return, is booked for a foul on Welbeck.
60 min This is a good spell for Brighton, who are dominating possession and defending without recourse to the seat of their pants. United may need to change something. They could do with a young Darren Fletcher to up the intensity and drive the team forward.
58 min Gruda’s shot takes a deflection and goes behind for… a goalkick. The referees can’t get everything right.
55 min Man Utd are starting to show the first signs of frustration. Despite some bright attacking play, they still haven’t created a really clear chance since Dalot was denied by Steele in the second minute.
54 min The impressive Gruda skips down the right wing and is fouled. His low free-kick is inadvertently diverted across the area by Fernandes and spanked over by Veltman. Not a bad chance.
51 min A dangerous Brighton break is thwarted when Yoro makes an important challenge in his own area. Not sure who the Brighton player was, Gross possibly.
50 min “I’m watching the Brighton match in a bar in Malaga and greatly enjoying dual-screening it with your MBM,” writes Greg Wood. “Thought I should say tho in the interests of accuracy that I think it was Peter Jones who uttered the immortal line on the radio?”
Of course it was! Urgh, eejit. “… but he hasn’t scored”.
48 min The irrepressible Cunha makes a good run behind the defence on the left and wins a corner for United. Fernande takes, Welbeck heads clear.
46 min Darren Fletcher encourages the crowd to make some noise as he walks down the touchline ahead of the second half. Bruno Fernandes gets the match back under way.
Half-time reading
My Guardian colleague Tim de Lisle writes some of the most interesting, original and eloquent pieces about matters at Old Trafford. Here’s a flavour:
We need intelligent, mature sports writing more than ever, so please have a look.
Half time: Man Utd 0-1 Brighton
Brighton lead at Old Trafford thanks to Brajan Gruda’s emphatic finish. It was an open, entertaining half, with 19 shots in total. Man Utd did a lot of good things, statistically and actually (62 per cent possession, 12 shots), but their blood needs to run colder in the final third.
45+1 min A nice effomrt from Cunha, who slips Veltman on the edge of the area, gives Steele the eyes and tries to reverse the ball inside the near post. It rolls a couple of yards wide, though I think Steele had it covered.
