Adam Webster helps Brighton secure Conference League football despite defeat
adam webster was not enough to stop Brighton from losing to Manchester United, but the final-day defeat still ended with Conference League football next season. Brighton’s European place came through results elsewhere on Merseyside and Wearside, not from the result at Old Trafford.
Fabian Hürzeler said his team had to take the longer view after a performance that arrived at the wrong time. “It was the worst time for this performance from us but we have to look at it overall in what we achieved,” he said.
Hürzeler on Brighton's place
Brighton will play Conference League football next season, their second European qualification, even after United moved them from Europa League qualification to Conference League qualification with the opener. Hürzeler drew a line between the match and the season as a whole. “We are Brighton, we are in Europe for a second time, we should be celebrating that achievement. It’s important you see where we came from.”
The margin for error disappeared quickly once Bruno Fernandes delivered his record 21st Premier League assist of the season. His outswinging corner found Patrick Dorgu for the opener, and that goal was enough to shift Brighton’s European route on the day.
Fernandes and Dorgu strike
Manchester United’s opener did more than settle the match. It pushed Brighton from the Europa League place they were chasing into the Conference League slot they will now take next season, even as Hürzeler’s side waited on developments elsewhere.
Michael Carrick’s first game as permanent manager ended with a win, and he was direct about the response he wants from his side. “It’s not ended here, we want to keep building,” he said. He added, “That’s the foundation we need to show. I am delighted to be here for longer.”
Carrick's first win
Carrick also pointed to Fernandes’ role in the result. “He’s such an influence,” he said, after the midfielder produced the assist that set the game’s only decisive move in motion. Brighton’s own season still finishes with Europe, but after a final-day defeat, the club leaves with a place in next season’s Conference League rather than the higher berth they had been close to taking.
