Dwight McNeil scored a second-half brace as Everton climbed into 16th and two points clear of the Premier League relegation zone to dampen Brighton’s European dreams with a thumping 5-1 victory at the Amex.

It was a shocking first half for the seventh-placed hosts, who fell behind after just 33 seconds through Abdoulaye Doucoure, who later bagged a first-half brace.

Albion’s woes were exacerbated when goalkeeper Jason Steele turned the ball into his own net and McNeil added another for Everton in the second half.

Alexis Mac Allister was able to claw one back for the home side, but the rout was firmly recorded when McNeil scored his second late in stoppage time.

Like their Merseyside rivals on Saturday, the away end largely spurned the call to commemorate the King’s coronation with the singing of the national anthem and attempted to drown it out with a rendition of Spirit of the Blues.

Those chants quickly turned to elated cheers when Dominic Calvert-Lewin collected the ball with his back to Brighton’s goal and – with a neat pivot – crossed to Doucoure at the far post, who obligingly tapped home.

Brighton worked a free-kick to Facundo Buonanotte on the right, but Jordan Pickford was alert to his nodded effort from a tight angle, picking it out of the air with little need for effort.

It was the visitors piling on the pressure at the 25-minute mark thanks to some fine work from Alex Iwobi, who collected the ball inside his own half and cooly controlled it in the final third, where Albion were eventually able to shut down the initial wave of attack.

Kaoru Mitoma tried to set up Danny Welbeck who could not make contact as he slid toward the Everton goal, while control once again began to feel like an elusive pursuit for the hosts, who found themselves at the mercy of Doucoure.

This time he latched onto McNeil’s cross from the left before volleying the ball past Steele to double Everton’s advantage on 29 minutes.

Brighton hoped that would be the end to their disastrous first half but McNeil had other ideas as he sent in a cross which Steele stooped forward to save, but instead further buried his side when the ball deflected in off the back of his leg.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi made four changes to start the second half including the introduction of Evan Ferguson, who was available for the first time after missing four matches with an ankle injury.

It was fellow substitute Solly March who first tested Pickford and lent the Seagulls a spark they had been sorely missing, getting stuck in and winning a corner.

Ferguson came close on the subsequent set-piece as he forced a good save from the Toffees shot-stopper with a nodded effort at the far post.

Albion finally started to resemble a superior-looking side and remained camped in Everton’s half as Ferguson came inches away from pulling one back with a left-footed effort tipped away by Pickford before Mac Allister hit the crossbar.

It was the visitors, however, who extended their advantage against the run of play after Iwobi broke down the left and flicked the ball to McNeil, who evaded Lewis Dunk’s late sliding challenge and patiently tucked in the Toffees’ fourth.

Three minutes later, Mitoma’s rebound took a fortunate bounce off Mac Allister and in, but McNeil was not done for the night as he netted Everton’s fifth in added time.

Alexis Mac Allister believes Brighton are proving they have the quality to reach Europe after his nerveless penalty secured an “unforgettable” 1-0 win over Manchester United.

The Seagulls soared to sixth spot in the Premier League table, above Tottenham and Aston Villa, thanks to Mac Allister thumping home with virtually the last kick of Thursday’s pulsating contest.

Roberto De Zerbi’s free-flowing side have two games in hand on Spurs and Villa, as well as fifth-placed Liverpool, who sit just four points above them.

Argentina midfielder Mac Allister says Albion must focus on their own situation and results as they bid to cap a memorable campaign by achieving continental qualification.

“We know that it’s the end of the season and these three points are very important,” he told Brighton’s club website.

“The way we are playing is very important because we feel very good. We will do our best to finish as high as we can.

“We have to think about ourselves and not look at the other teams. If we play the way we play, we will have big chances to fight for a European spot and that has to be our aim.”

World Cup winner Mac Allister kept his composure to fire into the top-left corner from 12 yards nine minutes into added time after Luke Shaw’s inexplicable handball was penalised following VAR intervention.

The 24-year-old’s 11th club goal of the season prompted more jubilant scenes inside the Amex Stadium on the back of Saturday’s record-breaking 6-0 hammering of Wolves.

“It was so special,” he said. “For the team and the fans, it was an amazing win and something unforgettable.”

Brighton’s last-gasp success partially avenged their painful FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out defeat to United 11 days earlier.

The Seagulls also broke the club-record top-flight points tally by moving on to 55 – three more than they managed in the the 42-game 1981-82 season – with six games still to go.

Goalkeeper Jason Steele, who made smart saves to deny Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes, admits Albion’s recent Wembley agony gave them additional incentive.

“It wasn’t about revenge or anything like that,” he said. “Did we have a little bit extra motivation? Yeah, probably.

“But I don’t think it spilled over into anything other than that and we deserved to win.

“It was a big night for us. Two good teams were going toe to toe, really enjoyable to play in and the last-minute winner, you can’t beat that.”

Brighton complete a trio of consecutive home games against relegation-threatened Everton on Monday evening.

The fitness of Pascal Gross and Evan Ferguson will be assessed ahead of that match but head coach De Zerbi does not expect to have Joel Veltman back from injury.

What the papers say

Liverpool have stepped up their bid for Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, 24, according to The Guardian. James Milner, 37, could be heading in the other direction with Brighton confident of a deal with the former England midfielder out of contract at Anfield this summer.

Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, 23, is being eyed by Aston Villa, according to The Daily Telegraph. Villa are also keen on Barcelona winger Ferran Torres, 23.

Winger Harvey Barnes is attracting interest from clubs keen to lure him away from Leicester. The Mail reports Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa are keen on the 25-year-old.

Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca has emerged as a candidate to replace David Moyes in charge at West Ham, according to The Sun. The former Tottenham target is in charge of French side Lille.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Joao Palhinha: Fulham are expected to ask more than £50 million for the midfielder, 27, who is linked with Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Andrew Omobanidele: AC Milan and Nice are among the clubs linked with Norwich’s 20-year-old Republic of Ireland centre-half.

Erik ten Hag bemoaned an “annoying” last-gasp loss at Brighton as Manchester United’s Champions League hopes suffered a setback.

Seagulls midfielder Alexis Mac Allister slammed home from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of added time after Luke Shaw’s inexplicable handball was punished following VAR intervention.

The dramatic 1-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium dented United’s top-four aspirations, leaving them only four points above fifth-placed Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand.

Ten Hag conceded his side contributed to their own downfall during a pulsating south-coast clash.

The Dutchman felt an action-packed opening in which Antony wasted a golden chance before goalkeeper David De Gea was flattened when denying Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma with his face following a poor pass from Victor Lindelof encapsulated the frustration.

“Every defeat is a disappointment but in the end when you lose in the last second, that is of course annoying,” said United boss Ten Hag.

“And I think the first minute sums everything up. We create a good chance, we were not clinical enough, then in the attack after we concede a big chance by a giveaway from us, the ball on the head for David.

“And in the end, we also gave away the goal and that’s annoying because if you can’t win because you don’t finish your opportunities then don’t lose.”

With plenty at stake in the battle for continental qualification, rival players clashed in a heated second half after Antony’s crude challenge on Mac Allister sparked a mass brawl.

The two sides were each shown four yellow cards across the course of a gripping encounter.

Ten Hag was unhappy with some of Brighton’s challenges and also bemoaned a free-kick award in the build-up to referee Andre Marriner pointing to the spot after viewing Shaw’s handball on the pitch-side monitor.

“The annoying thing is that the free-kick before (the corner) is never a free-kick and I have seen really bad tackles today, sometimes without whistles as well,” he said.

“Every attack you make, they kick you and then from a fair block it’s a free-kick and it’s a corner and then it’s a disappointing handball in the dying seconds and you can’t react any more.

“It’s not about me to give a judgement about the ref. We lost this game, we make a mistake in the end and we didn’t take our chances but of course there are some disappointments.”

Brighton’s win partially avenged the spot-kick heartache they suffered at the hands of their opponents in the FA Cup semi-finals just 11 days ago and completed a league double over United.

Victory for Roberto De Zerbi’s men lifted them to sixth in the table, above Tottenham and Aston Villa, and four points behind Jurgen Klopp’s fifth-placed Reds with two additional games remaining.

Head coach De Zerbi, who overcame illness to lead the Seagulls to success, said: “We deserved to win today, we deserved to win in the semi-final. If you play well, it can happen one time you lose but in the end you win, my experience in football says it’s like this.

“I feel better with the victory. I’m wasted!”

Alexis Mac Allister fired Brighton to sixth in the Premier League by converting a dramatic added-time penalty to dent Manchester United’s Champions League hopes.

The Argentina World Cup winner emphatically dispatched the ball into the top left corner nine minutes beyond the regulatory 90 after Luke Shaw was penalised for handball following VAR intervention.

Albion’s 1-0 win from a pulsating Amex Stadium contest moves them above Tottenham and Aston Villa, while leaving United looking over their shoulders at fifth-placed Liverpool.

The Seagulls sit just four points behind Jurgen Klopp’s Reds with two games in hand thanks to the stunning late twist.

Kaoru Mitoma hopes to cap a fine breakthrough season by helping Brighton make history as he sets his sights on gaining revenge against Manchester United.

The high-flying Seagulls surpassed their Premier League points record by moving on to 52 with Saturday’s 6-0 thrashing of Wolves, which reignited the club’s quest to reach Europe.

Fourth-placed United travel to the south coast just 11 days after inflicting an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat on Albion in the FA Cup semi-final.

Japan winger Mitoma only made his Brighton debut in August but has rapidly enhanced his reputation this term with seven goals and four assists during a string of standout performances.

The 25-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, is determined to further aid the Seagulls’ push to secure continental qualification for the first time.

“Right now it’s important for the team to finish the season as high up the table as possible and aim for a Champions League or Europa League spot,” he said.

“If we can reach a higher standard playing this brand of football, I think we will be able to bring the fans even more joy.

“I want to make them happy and, in order to do so, we want to make history.”

Brighton edged the recent Wembley meeting with Erik ten Hag’s men but were unable to find a breakthrough before Solly March’s miss proved decisive in a painful 7-6 shoot-out loss.

The eighth-placed Seagulls’ chances of catching United and scraping into the Champions League spots are extremely slim as they sit 11 points adrift, albeit with a game in hand.

Yet a top-five finish remains a distinct possibility going into Albion’s final seven fixtures in a hectic last month of the campaign.

Mitoma, who began the hammering of Wolves on the bench after being rested by boss Roberto De Zerbi, is confident Brighton can complete a league double over United following a 2-1 Old Trafford win on the first weekend of the season.

“It was a disappointing result, a frustrating result, but we have already switched our focus to the league,” he said of the semi-final setback.

“It’s very important that we win this game as they are our direct rivals in the league table. This will be a really big game for both teams.

“They are a team who is always fighting for the title, and the quality of each individual is something that sets them apart from other teams.

“But if we can play to our strengths, we will have a chance to win.”

Head coach De Zerbi could be absent from the Amex Stadium touchline for Thursday evening’s game after cancelling his pre-match press conference on Wednesday due to illness.

Mitoma was handed his maiden top-flight start by the Italian in Albion’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea in late October and believes he is progressing well.

“The coach demands a lot from me, so I’m trying my best to meet them,” he said.

“The way he sets up the team and his tactics are helping my performance, as it suits my style very well.

“He is very specific about what he wants from me in training and in games.

“I think my standard on the ball and off the ball is improving step by step, so I feel that I’m developing under his coaching.”

Roberto De Zerbi admits it will be tough for Brighton to be the best footballing team in the world while Pep Guardiola remains in management.

Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui last week attributed that status to the swashbuckling Seagulls before his side suffered a humiliating 6-0 Premier League thrashing at the Amex Stadium.

De Zerbi graciously accepted Lopetegui’s compliment following Saturday’s thumping win but rates Manchester City boss Guardiola and former Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa as the planet’s leading coaches in terms of style of play.

The Italian is steadfastly committed to his free-flowing vision of the game – insisting it would be easier for Brighton to replace him than for him to change tack – and acknowledges it is impossible without talented players.

“I have to say thanks, I respect a lot him, he’s a great manager,” De Zerbi said of the comments from former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla coach Lopetegui.

“I think we are playing well. (Yet) while Guardiola works in football, it’s difficult to play better than his team.

“But I think the credit is not for me, the credit is for my players. When we receive congratulations or these words, the credit is only of our players. I’m lucky to be the head coach, I’m lucky to work with them.

“For me, it’s an honour. I have a good confidence in myself. I think I am a good coach but to play this level of game without great players, I can’t.

“With Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa, there never can be competition.

“In a game, yes. I would like to win against Guardiola, against Bielsa, but for me it will be never a competition with them because they are the biggest coaches in the world.”

Doubles from Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck earned Brighton a club-record top-flight win against Lopetegui’s stunned visitors.

The victory moved eighth-placed Albion on to 52 points with seven games remaining in their quest to qualify for Europe.

Manchester United visit the south coast on Thursday evening – 11 days after beating the Seagulls on penalties in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Asked what he would like to see for the reminder of the campaign, De Zerbi said: “Playing like this (against Wolves), working to improve our mentality and play every game like it is the last game in our life.

“Because for us, for the club, for our fans it can be a historical result.”

De Zerbi also urged former Union Saint-Gilloise forward Undav to have greater self-belief following his first goals in English football.

“Undav is one of my biggest problems in Brighton and I want to explain why,” he said.

“He has big potential and he has big quality but it seems like he doesn’t believe in himself.

“And I would like to help him believe more in himself, because he has quality. He has all to be a player in the first XI, but he has to understand faster because the time in football flies.

“Undav is unique in our squad because he scores like a number nine and he has the quality to play like a number 10.”

Danny Welbeck is loving life under “special man” Roberto De Zerbi and hopes Brighton can keep hold of their highly-rated coach.

De Zerbi has the high-flying Seagulls challenging for European football amid widespread plaudits for his attractive, possession-based style of play.

Eighth-placed Albion underlined their credentials for continental qualification by thrashing Wolves 6-0 on Saturday to register a club-record Premier League win.

Welbeck, who scored twice against Wanderers, believes De Zerbi is doing an “unbelievable job” and is not surprised the Italian continues to be linked with a host of top clubs.

“We’re obviously very happy to have him here,” the forward, who played for Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger earlier in his career, said of his current manager.

“Playing for him and his team and his style, it’s unbelievable.

“I think every single job that comes up, with him doing so well, he’s going to be getting linked to that. But hopefully he’s still here.

“I don’t like to rank managers because I’ve got a lot of respect for each and every one, you learn so much from every single manager you have, but he’s definitely a special manager and the style of play is so enjoyable to play underneath.

“You learn so much every single day. He’s a special man.”

Former England international Welbeck struck either side of half-time against Wolves as Brighton ended a challenging week in emphatic fashion.

Deniz Undav and Pascal Gross also claimed doubles to help the Seagulls bounce back from last weekend’s painful FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United and a 3-1 midweek defeat at lowly Nottingham Forest.

Albion have already equalled the club-record top-flight points tally of 52 set in 1982, but Welbeck knows De Zerbi will not allow standards to drop going into the final seven matches of the campaign.

“Every single day at the training ground he’s always the same,” said the 32-year-old.

“He’s very direct and he knows how he wants his team to play and, credit to the boys, everybody has bought into his style.

“He keeps everybody motivated, everybody on their toes wanting to be better, wanting to improve, the young players are getting opportunities. He’s doing an unbelievable job.

“I’m loving it. It’s very enjoyable. It’s a great football club to be at.”

Welbeck departed the Wembley pitch before last weekend’s agonising 7-6 shoot-out loss to his former club United due to an injury.

He concedes bouncing back from that deflating defeat was tough.

“It wasn’t easy, but there’s not time really to feel sorry for yourself because that’s not going to get you anywhere,” he said.

“I think the result in midweek against Forest was a little bit of a hangover from the cup semi-final, so we had to pick ourselves up and go again.

“We did (against Wolves) and it sets us in good stead for the rest of the season.”

A top-seven finish and entry into the Europa Conference League is Brighton’s minimum objective.

Welbeck, who has plenty of Champions League and Europa League experience from his time at Old Trafford and Emirates Stadium, is not allowing himself to think too far ahead.

“It’s important to set high aims and, for us to get there, we’ve got to do our job on the pitch and we’re really looking forward to it, it’s exciting times,” he said.

“I don’t really want to talk too much about that until if it actually comes. It would be amazing though.”

Roberto De Zerbi admits he “made some mistakes” by not affording more first-team opportunities to Billy Gilmour and Deniz Undav before their starring roles in Brighton’s stunning 6-0 win over Wolves.

The peripheral pair were handed just their third Premier League starts for the Seagulls during Saturday’s club-record top-flight victory and seized their chances with standout performances.

Former Chelsea midfielder Gilmour was hailed as the best player on the pitch by his manager, while German forward Undav bagged a brace to claim his first league goals in English football.

De Zerbi’s decision to begin with key trio Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma on the bench raised some eyebrows but was quickly forgotten as his reshuffled starting XI delivered in devastating style.

“We are enduring a very tough period, we are playing so many games in a row and we are not used to playing so many games,” the Brighton boss said of his decision to rotate.

“I thought it was good and right to give Mac Allister, Mitoma and Caicedo one game to recover and for Billy Gilmour and Undav and the players who are playing less the possibility to show their quality.

“But the level of Mac Allister, Mitoma and Caicedo is high and to make competition is difficult for Gilmour.

“Gilmour, I think, was the best player on the pitch and I must admit possibly in the past I made some mistakes with him and with Undav because I didn’t give them many possibilities to play.

“But for me it’s difficult. To play without Mac Allister, Mitoma, Solly March, Moises Caicedo, it’s difficult.”

Brighton’s thumping success was the perfect response to a difficult week as Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck claimed two goals apiece.

Albion suffered penalty shoot-out heartache at the hands of Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final last Sunday and then had their European push dented by a 3-1 midweek loss at relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.

De Zerbi now has a positive selection headache going into Thursday’s rematch with Erik ten Hag’s United in the league but could be without Joel Veltman after he was substituted in visible distress.

The Italian coach conceded he should have withdrawn Dutch defender Veltman earlier, particularly as fellow right-back Tariq Lamptey is sidelined.

“I hope it will be a small problem,” De Zerbi said of Veltman, who has recently been troubled by a hamstring issue.

“It’s important for us, especially in this moment, because we are playing without Lamptey.

“With or without Joel changes a lot of things because only Pascal Gross can play as a right-back.”

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui urged his players to quickly move on from the Amex Stadium humiliation.

The former Real Madrid manager also feels it is important to put the current situation into perspective given his club were bottom of the table when he took over following the World Cup.

Wplves host local rivals Aston Villa next weekend, with work still to do to eradicate relegation concerns.

“All together we have to be ready for the next fight because we are in the middle of the battle,” said the Spaniard.

“We lost one battle but not the war, so we have to continue to achieve our aim in the end of the season.

“We are aware that we have not done anything yet and we need to get more points.

“We have to recover our energy and our confidence because we have to remember four months ago we were in the bottom.

“It’s a good thing to remember where we were. Now at least we have the possibility to be out of the relegation and that is a very big aim for us.”

Harry Kane's future continues to be a hot topic of debate, with a number of heavyweight clubs lining up to sign the prolific striker should he indicate he wants to leave Tottenham.

Following strong links with the likes of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, the England international is also now reportedly on Chelsea's list of targets.

The Blues have struggled for goals this term, despite a huge outlay on attacking talent over the past two transfer windows, and need to address that issue ahead of next season.

With Kane's contract due to expire at the end of next season, Tottenham's hand may be forced somewhat should a huge bid come in when the window reopens for business.

TOP STORY – POCHETTINO HOPING TO REUNITE WITH KANE

Not only are Chelsea on the lookout for new recruits – while also offloading plenty of deadwood from their squad – they are searching for a new permanent head coach.

Mauricio Pochettino is thought to be the frontrunner to take over, and the Daily Mail suggests the former Tottenham coach is hoping to work with Kane again at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs would be reluctant to sell to a fellow Premier League side, especially fierce rivals Chelsea, but it is claimed Kane would jump at the chance to reunite with Pochettino.

ROUND-UP

– Brighton and Hove Albion have a club-record £30million deal in place with Watford to sign forward Joao Pedro, while Liverpool midfielder James Milner is another target, according to The Athletic. 

– Marca suggests Real Madrid are ready to hold talks with the representatives of in-demand Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham over the next week. Liverpool recently pulled out of the race for the England international.

– Juventus could turn to Marseille coach Igor Tudor should they choose to sack Massimiliano Allegri, Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport claims. Tudor previously spent time at Juve as both a player and assistant coach.

– L'Equipe reports striker Jonathan David is likely to leave Lille at the end of the season and could be on his way to the Premier League. Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are said to be interested.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi does not know whether his side have the squad depth required to cope with a hectic run of games.

The Seagulls’ European dream suffered a big blow on Wednesday night as they were beaten 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, where De Zerbi said his players lacked energy just three days after they lost the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United on penalties.

They now have eight games to play in a month as they aim to qualify for European football for the first time in their history.

Asked whether his squad is light, the Italian replied: “I don’t know. For sure I am honest and I don’t want to speak in this way when we lose the game.

“I am proud of my players even though we lost. We will speak with (chairman) Tony (Bloom) at the end of the season. We are suffering too many injuries in this moment.

“I said this game was the most important game of the season. I knew the game was very, very, very tough. It was very tough for the energy but for the head too. The big teams are used to playing today, tomorrow, at four o’clock in the night, at nine o’clock in the morning, in the afternoon with the rain or sun. We are working on this.

“I think we can reach this level. I am speaking with Tony (Bloom). If we want to reach this level I think it is better to say I know the way. I will work hard to reach this level. I am not speaking about the table, I am speaking about the mentality.”

For Forest, victory gave their survival chances a much-needed shot in the arm as they climbed out of the bottom three.

Boss Steve Cooper was delighted that his side stuck to a plan to deliver a first three points in 12 games.

“We were never going to have a competition of possession or passes with them, because that wouldn’t have been the right plan,” Cooper said. “I asked the players at half-time to continue, not to get too frustrated – because some parts of the game they wouldn’t have enjoyed greatly – but I said they would get their rewards.

“We scored the second goal completely from the plan. The little box they play in midfield, with the centre-backs and the midfield players, is good, but if you do get it, it’s a really open pitch. We managed to take advantage of that.

“The players stuck to the plan brilliantly. It’s not as if we’ve been winning every week, so for the players to show that mentality and confidence in the game…We should take a lot of heart from that.”

Nottingham Forest gave their Premier League survival hopes a much-needed shot in the arm after beating Brighton 3-1 at the City Ground.

Forest were on a seemingly irreversible slide back to the Championship after a horror run of 11 games without a win going back to February, but they stopped the rot and moved out of the bottom three.

Another defeat had been on the cards after the Seagulls went ahead through Facundo Buonanotte’s goal on his first Premier League start after Brennan Johnson had missed an early penalty for Forest.

But an own goal by Pascal Gross on the stroke of half-time followed by second-half efforts from Danilo and Morgan Gibbs-White gave them a vital win.

This will renew belief that they can avoid the drop in their first season in the top flight in 23 years and also probably ends any lingering doubts over Steve Cooper’s future.

Brighton were looking to bounce back from the heart-breaking FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United, but this loss hurt their European ambitions as they dropped to eighth, but they do have games in hand on the teams above them.

With their exertions on Sunday at Wembley, Forest sniffed an opportunity and they started brightly in the hope of catching their visitors cold.

They forged the perfect chance to get the advantage they needed when they were awarded an early penalty after Pervis Estupinan clumsily fouled Neco Williams.

Jason Steele was on the bench for Brighton at Wembley and watched on as Robert Sanchez failed to save any United penalties in the shoot-out and he showed his team-mate how it was done, beating away Johnson’s effort in the 10th minute.

There was a sense that Forest really needed that to go in as Brighton began to take control.

Kaoru Mitoma was a constant threat and he almost created an opener as he skinned Serge Aurier and Felipe down the left and teed up Julio Enciso, whose shot was spectacularly tipped over the crossbar by Keylor Navas.

Forest had struggled to recreate that early energy, yet they had another brilliant opportunity to go ahead in the 32nd minute when Danilo sent Johnson clear on goal but, under a challenge from Lewis Dunk, the Wales international put his shot wide.

There was no way that Forest were going to get away with missing two such golden opportunities and Brighton went ahead five minutes later.

They had Navas to thank as a double blunder allowed Buonanotte to enjoy the perfect full league debut.

The Chilean goalkeeper’s poor goal-kick handed possession straight back to the visitors and then he could only palm out Solly March’s shot into the danger area, giving the 18-year-old the easiest of tap-ins.

But to their credit, Forest kept going and crucially got themselves level deep into first-half stoppage time.

A nice move saw Taiwo Awoniyi set up Renan Lodi on the left and his cross was turned in by Gross at the near post, with Steele only able to get a hand on it.

To go into the break level was huge for Forest, though they almost fell behind just before the hour as Brighton sliced them open on the counter attack.

Buonanotte was sent clear and he cleverly held onto possession before slipping in Mitoma, who put his first-time effort agonisingly wide.

A lengthy delay after a nasty injury to Williams, who was carried off on a stretcher after clashing with Johnson, seemed to change the atmosphere in the City Ground and the lid was lifted off in the 69th minute as Forest took the lead.

Danilo did well to close down Moses Caicedo on the halfway line and then raced on to Awoniyi’s pass before slotting into the far corner to send the home fans wild.

Gibbs-White had the chance to make it a more comfortable final 20 minutes, but he shot over from the edge of the area and Forest had some defending to do.

But any nerves were settled in stoppage time as they were awarded another penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Dunk from a corner and Gibbs-White did what Johnson failed to do by sending Steele the wrong way.

Brighton and Hove Albion have tied highly rated striker Evan Ferguson down to a new five-year contract.

Ferguson has enjoyed a promising breakthrough season in the Premier League this term, attracting admiring glances from other clubs.

But Brighton, so respected for their development of youth prospects in recent years, look set to continue shaping the 18-year-old.

Ferguson made his Premier League debut in February last year but has established himself as a regular first-team option in the 2022-23 campaign.

A powerful and athletic forward, Ferguson has made 13 top-flight appearances and scored four goals – across all competitions, he has netted eight times in 19 games.

Ferguson also made the breakthrough at international level this season, becoming the second-youngest player (18 years, 154 days) to score on his first start for the Republic of Ireland last month.

Before that, Ferguson also became the second-youngest (18y 76d) player in Premier League history to both score and assist in a match after Michael Owen in 1997 (17y 364d) back in January against Everton.

Netting against the Toffees also made Ferguson the youngest player to score in successive Premier League games since Federico Macheda in 2009.

On Ferguson's new deal, Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi said: "Evan's contract extension is great news.

"He trains and plays like a senior player with many years of experience and has become an important member of the squad.

"The aim is to help him become one of the strongest strikers in Europe."

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag paid tribute to David de Gea for bouncing back from a difficult game against Sevilla in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final penalties win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

De Gea was generally seen as culpable for all three of Sevilla's goals in Thursday's 3-0 defeat, which sealed United's elimination from the Europa League at the quarter-final stage.

But three days later he made several excellent saves to deny Brighton, with those stops ultimately contributing to the game going to penalties.

While De Gea never got particularly close to any of Brighton's spot-kicks, United did progress to the final thanks to emerging 7-6 victors, with Solly March blazing over before Victor Lindelof sealed the Seagulls' fate.

United's collective performance may not have been spectacular, but the improvement from Thursday was significant – including De Gea.

"I think he had two brilliant saves and know that he's a world-class keeper," Ten Hag said. "Thursday, he had a really bad day at the office, and it hurt.

"Really bad [day in the] office I have seen, but it's always when you are the keeper and you make mistakes, often you get penalised.

"But it doesn't mean that we have to go under. And also, we as a team, we let him down [against Sevilla] and we didn't fight back on Thursday.

"[Criticism] was justified on Thursday but, today, the lads deserve compliments and credit because they bounced back once again, they showed character.

"What we have to learn and improve, which must be our next step, is that if we have a setback in a game, we fight back in that same game, that we keep calm and fight back in that same game.

"We have to deal with setbacks and we can do it better but in between games, and it's not the first time, we do it very well."

Manchester City await United in the final, making it the first ever Manchester derby in the FA Cup showpiece.

United will go into the contest as considerable outsiders, though Ten Hag pointed to their 2-1 win in January's derby as evidence they can defeat Pep Guardiola's treble-chasers.

"We have proof that we can beat them but then we have to play the perfect game," Ten Hag continued.

"That was the most perfect game we played this season [winning the derby in January] but we have to go again.

"We know that but, first of all, we have to focus on different games because we have to be in the top four, to get into the Champions League for next season."

Manchester United will contest the first ever Manchester derby FA Cup final after squeezing past Brighton and Hove Albion 7-6 on penalties at the end of a 0-0 draw, Solly March's miss proving decisive.

Brighton had arguably been the better team through 120 minutes of play, but both they and United were wasteful in front of a tense Wembley crowd.

A high-level shoot-out looked as though it was going to go on a while until March's misstep, and Victor Lindelof duly capitalised to send United into a record-equalling 21st FA Cup final.

The EFL Cup winners will face rivals Manchester City for the crown, with United reaching both domestic cup finals in a single season for the first time since 1994.

Having endured a nightmare on Thursday, David de Gea provided an early reminder of what he can do when tipping a goal-bound Alexis Mac Allister free kick around the post.

It was not until the final stages of the first half that United enjoyed sustained threat.

Bruno Fernandes drilled agonisingly wide of the bottom-left corner; Christian Eriksen then drew an unorthodox save from Sanchez when his disappointingly tame effort failed to make the most of Marcus Rashford's cut-back.

United were on the ropes again at the start of the second half, De Gea denying Julio Enciso with a stunning save before Danny Welbeck headed over from close range.

But the Red Devils responded well.

Antony twice tested Robert Sanchez, and desperate Brighton defending prevented Casemiro getting a shot away after great work by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Extra time always looked likely thereafter, however, and the period yielded chances at both ends – a dreadful touch robbed Deniz Undav of a certain goal, Sanchez then did brilliantly to tip Rashford's deflected strike wide.

Penalties were inevitable and the standard of the kicks was exceptional, but March – a standout performer until then – sliced his effort well over and Lindelof coolly planted the winning effort into the top-right corner.