Jose Mourinho wants Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian at Manchester United

Brighton and Hove Albion’s dauntingly hard end to the season continues with Friday’s visit of Manchester United to the Amex Stadium.

Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw is believed to be on the verge of leaving Old Trafford, and according to reports, manager Jose Mourinho has already identified his replacement.

In the 26th minute, Rashford stole the ball from Shane Duffy on the right flank and raced towards goal as Martial stood in acres of space in the penalty area.

Marouane Fellaini touched in Marcus Rashford’s free kick after two minutes only to have his celebrations cut short by the linesman’s flag.

Alternatively, to put it in a more logical way, Mourinho feels honour-bound to give his other four central defenders the chance to shine, as Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Victor Lindelöf are all striving to impress their national coaches to win a place in squads for Russian Federation. Ivorian centre-back Eric Bailly has been ignored from the starting lineup of late and this should remain the case on Friday with Mourinho confirming his intention of helping players vying for World Cup spots. Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and many other players attended the dinner with their partners. The Red Devils have been unable to challenge Manchester City for the crown this term, but that is mainly due to Pep Guardiola’s side enjoying a quite staggering campaign.

This statement is absolutely baffling. The 24-year-old Ivorian should be getting as much gametime as possible at his age, to realise his potential.

Mourinho has overseen United’s progress to the FA Cup final where he will be expected to add to his huge collection of trophies both in England and overseas.

Mourinho’s explanation for why he has dropped the defender is likely to reassure United fans, with whom Bailly has become a firm favourite. The Portugese coach usually claims he does this in order to take the pressure off of the players, and therefore put all the focus/burden on himself.

“Obviously the FA Cup is very important, a nice trophy to win, and we are going all out to win that”.

Pascal Gross scored the only goal of the match as Brighton & Hove Albion recorded a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Friday night. Marcos Rojo, making his first start since February 3, did his best to hook it away but it was over the line – just. If so, fair enough, but otherwise it’s a nonsensical justification to give. The Frenchman then would go on to win player of the month in September, ensuring his first month in England was one to remember.