Manchester United slumped to a club record-extending 16th Premier League loss this season on Sunday, while Champions League-chasing Newcastle needed an 89th-minute penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw at Brighton.
United was beaten 4-3 at Brentford in a wild, end-to-end game played in between matches against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League semifinals.
United manager Ruben Amorim fielded the club’s youngest ever Premier League lineup according to average age, with Europe clearly the priority this season ahead of improving his team’s woeful league position of 15th. United, on 39 points, is already certain to set its worst-ever total in the Premier League, as well as record its lowest finish.
More important for Amorim will be protecting the 3-0 lead over Bilbao from the first leg in Spain going into the return match at Old Trafford on Thursday.
One positive for United was the return from injury of winger Amad Diallo, who scored the third goal in stoppage time as the visitors came from 4-1 down but couldn’t find an equalizer.
A first-half goal by Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh — a former Newcastle player — looked like seeing off his old club, only for Alexander Isak to convert a late penalty.
Newcastle could have climbed to third place but now is in danger of being caught by teams below in the race for a top-five finish.
Newcastle is in fourth place and three points ahead of Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
Chelsea, which hosts already-crowned champion Liverpool later Sunday, and Forest, which visits Crystal Palace on Monday, have yet to play this round.
Also Sunday, West Ham drew 1-1 with Tottenham, which is also in the Europa League semifinals and beat Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt 3-1 in the first leg on Thursday.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
