Brighton notched three goals in the first half.

Glenn Murray grabbed the opener and then Shane Duffy added the second.

Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back and made it 2-1 with a header, before Pascal Gross nailed a penalty from the spot to restore the two goal buffer.

Ryan kept United at bay in the second half with some quality saves.

Paul Pogba scored deep in injury time but it was not enough and the home team recorded an impressive win.

"I thought we were very good. It was a victory we deserved," Seagulls manager Chris Hughton said.

"There's not a player that didn't play well. To get that result with the quality they have you have to put in a good performance."