Rangnick apologises to Manchester United fans after 'humiliating' 4-0 loss to Brighton

Manchester United's season went from bad to worse, with manager Ralf Rangnick forced to apologise following a crushing 4-0 defeat against Brighton on Saturday.

This season has been an utterly forgettable one for United fans and Saturday's defeat would rank among its lowest points.

Goals from Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard at the Amex Stadium knocked the wind out of the Manchester side, whose fall had been rapid and steep.

After 5-0 and 4-0 defeats against rivals Liverpool, a 4-1 loss at Watford that saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked in November and an FA Cup loss at home to Championship side Middlesbrough, it seemed United couldn't possibly do worse. But they managed to sink even further.

Sixth-placed United cannot finish in the Premier League's top four and are certain to miss out on the Champions League for only the fifth time in 30 seasons.

"It was a terrible performance. From the first until the last minute it was not enough, we can only apologise for this performance and a humiliating defeat," Rangnick said.

Five straight away defeats for MUFC, with 16 conceded in those games. It's so bad. 3,000 fans travelled hundreds of miles to see that today. Congratulations to Brighton on their first home win since WW2.

"We just gave too much time and space. We were never in a position where we could stop them playing through our lines. We told the players be as compact as they could but we couldn't stop it."

With 58 points and only one game left, United's fifth successive away defeat means they will finish with their lowest points total in the Premier League era.

Asked if United's players had failed to follow his instructions, Rangnick said: "I don't think they ignored the game-plan but we