Manchester United's Cameroonian goalkeeper #24 Andre Onana reacts after failing to stop Brighton's third goal scored by Brighton's French midfielder #14 Georginio Rutter during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Ian HODGSON / AFP)
Manchester, United Kingdom: Manchester United crashed to a dismal 3-1 defeat against Brighton as Ruben Amorim's problems mounted on the day Old Trafford paid a sombre tribute to legendary striker Denis Law.
Amorim's side were hoping to mark Law's death aged 84 by producing the kind of entertaining display that was the hallmark of the United star's teams.
Instead they crumbled to a sixth defeat in 11 league games since Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.
United are languishing in 13th place and although they are 10 points above the relegation zone, they are far from certain to avoid being dragged into the survival fight on the evidence of this wretched display.
Yankuba Minteh set the tone for United's moribund performance with an early opener for Brighton.
Bruno Fernandes equalised with a penalty before half-time, but second half goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter left United in turmoil.
After a gritty draw at Liverpool, an FA Cup third round win with 10 men at Arsenal and a 3-1 win over lowly Southampton, United looked as if they might have turned a corner.
But, in truth, they were luck to beat Southampton and all their flaws were laid bare against a dynamic Brighton team who have won six of their last seven league meetings with United.
Amorim's side have failed to keep a clean-sheet in 12 matches in all competitions, with both their leaky defence and error-prone keeper Andre Onana exposed by Brighton.
It was a depressing result on an emotional day for United after Law passed away on Friday.
Law, diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in 2021, is the third top scorer in United's history, with 237 goals in 404 appearances.
Law was a member of United's European Cup-winning squad under Matt Busby in 1968, when they became the first English club to lift the trophy, though he was injured for the final.
Dubbed Scotland's greatest ever player by Ferguson, Law is the only player from his country to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or.
