Being Brighton’s fifth consecutive finale to come at home against top-eight opposition, this always had the makings of an emotional day.
And there were early signs of the Seagulls’ intent to become the first side ever to win five straight PL H2Hs against United, when Valentín Barco took the ball in his stride and fired low to force André Onana into the first save of the afternoon.
Events at the other end of the M23 would render that save moot though, with Newcastle taking the lead at Brentford to consolidate the final European spot.
United now needed to win by 19 clear goals to avoid the unprecedented infamy of eighth place. But there was little sign of them making even the slightest dent in that stratospheric number, as Brighton continued to enjoy the better of play, with João Pedro and Adam Lallana putting efforts off target either side of two more goals for Newcastle in the capital.
One of very few United players who can look back on 2023/24 with some positivity, Alejandro Garnacho then came close to an opener, but Jason Steele saved well to thwart him.
Early in the second half, it was anyone’s guess who would break the deadlock in what was by now the only goalless PL game of the day. Just as Brentford pulled one back against Newcastle, Lallana saw an effort cleared off the line, before Garnacho tried an effort from range that also found itself blocked by an alert opponent.
With nothing to lose, Erik ten Hag deployed Rasmus Højlund in place of Bruno Fernandes shortly after the hour, in a sure sign of the Dutchman going for broke.
And he was rewarded in more ways than one, with Brentford going within a goal of Newcastle in London just moments before United finally clicked into gear and broke the deadlock.
A winning scorer in three of his four prior goalscoring appearances, Diogo Dalot was the unlikely hitman, latching onto the end of a long ball upfield from Casemiro and slotting low past Steele for his first PL goal since October.
Dalot’s strike was just the tonic United’s frustrated and long-suffering fanbase needed. But Newcastle soon added a killer fourth at the Gtech Stadium, finally ending United’s quest for seventh place.
United would at least add a second in the dying minutes through Højlund though, as his solo run culminated in the ball finding a helpless Steele’s bottom-right hand corner.
Even if that ensured the Red Devils wouldn’t endure their second sub-60 point tally in three years, this is still a bittersweet result. All eyes are now on next Saturday’s all-Manchester FA Cup final, upon which Erik ten Hag’s very job may well hinge.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)
