LUKE SHAW handed Brighton a last-gasp Euro lifeline as Manchester United were laid low by another bout of travel sickness.
Alex Mac Allister’s 99th-minute spot-kick finally separated two teams who had thrown the kitchen sink at each other all night without being able to land a killer blow.
It took a penalty shoot-out to settle the FA Cup semi-final in United’s favour 11 days ago after a goalless 120 minutes at Wembley.
But this time it was The Seagulls who were spot on as Shaw’s last-gasp handball gave Mac Allister the opportunity to settle this extraordinary match with a nerveless shot into the top corner.
It was the 39th shot of the match and one which means Erik ten Hag’s will finish the season having taken just one point on the road against all the other teams in the Premier League’s top nine.
It leaves United clinging on to fourth place and the final Champions League qualification spot.
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But Brighton are now up to sixth place with games in hand on all the teams above them and dreaming of European qualification for the first time in their history.
Yet it was apparent right from the off that neither team was going to die wondering as they set out to boost their European aspirations.
United should have been ahead in the very first minute when Bruno Fernandes slipped Antony in on goal.
But with only keeper Jason Steele to beat, the £82million Brazilian pulled his shot wastefully wide.
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And a couple of minutes later it was the visitors’ turn to fly by the seat of their pants when Victor Lindelof’s loose pass towards Aaron Wan-Bissaka was picked off by Kaoru Mitoma.
It looked for all the world as though United were heading for another bout of travel sickness as Mitoma bore down on goal.
But his powerful shot smacked David De Gea in the face with such force that the United keeper appeared to be knocked out cold.
Referee Andre Marriner immediately stopped the game to allow De Gea to receive lengthy treatment before he eventually staggered glassy-eyed to his feet.
But as reserve keeper Jack Butland warmed up for his first action of the season, the United medics ruled that the Spaniard was not concussed and fit to carry on.
With Brighton threatening to cut loose after that early let-off, that looked to be quite the gamble by Ten Hag.
They were fortunate that when Mitoma wriggled through a crowd of defenders as De Gea was still recovering his senses, his shot was just the wrong side of the post.
And they got lucky again when Alexis Mac Allister’s corner picked out Adam Webster for a powerful downward header which bounced straight into De Gea’s hands.
Yet it was by no means all one-way traffic and United also had more than their fair share of opportunities during an incredibly open first 45 minutes
Marcus Rashford was denied by the boot of Steele as he looked to squeeze one inside the near post and Antony’s mis-hit shot from the corner almost caught out the Brighton keeper.
Fernandes put one into Row Z from the edge of the area and Anthony Martial fired straight at Steele after being played in by Fred’s through ball.
The visitors were finding a lot of joy down Brighton’s right flank, where Moises Caceido was really struggling as a makeshift full-back.
Yet while Roberto De Zerbi’s team were wide open at the back, they were irresistible going forward as first Mac Allister and then Facundo Buonanotte were just off target from distance.
Quite how the game remained goalless after 17 first-half shots was a mystery to leave the watching Gareth Southgate scratching his head.
And the England boss would not have been impressed by Rashford’s theatrical attempts to win a penalty when he went down with barely a touch from Lewis Dunk.
Just 11 days after these teams needed a penalty shoot-out to settle their FA Cup semi-final, there was absolutely nothing to choose between them again.
Mitoma put on the afterburners to race away from Wan-Bissaka but couldn’t get any power into his shot and Danny Welbeck had plenty of muscle but no sense of direction when he fired wide shortly after.
Casemiro, already booked for a cynical foul on Mac Allister, was fortunate to escape a second yellow when he brought down the Argentine World Cup winner again on the edge of the area.
And as tempers flared he was joined in Marriner’s notebook by Antony and Dunk for a flare-up sparked by the United winger scything down poor Mac Allister once more.
There were so many players going to ground that it was almost impossible to keep track of who was injured and who was just acting.
Mitoma drew further penalty demands when he tumbled between Wan-Bissaka and Antony but TV replays confirmed he had dived.
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It didn’t stop the furious fans from chanting: “So now you’re going to believe us, the Premier League’s corrupt.”
But no-one was complaining at the final whistle.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
