Brighton 0-3 Manchester United: Fernandes breaks Premier League assist record

Bruno Fernandes broke the record for the most assists in a Premier League season and also scored as Manchester United defeated Brighton 3-0 on Sunday.

The Portugal international delivered the corner for Patrick Dorgu to open the scoring in the season finale at the Amex Stadium and, after Bryan Mbeumo had doubled the lead, lashed in the third early in the second half.

That marked a 21st top-flight assist for Fernandes, the most for any player in a single Premier League campaign.

United had been pretty sluggish until Dorgu's thumping 33rd-minute header from Fernandes' assist kicked the Red Devils into life.

Luke Shaw flashed one past the left post, before Mbeumo tapped home after a wonderful interchange between Amad Diallo and Mason Mount.

Fernandes then drilled into the bottom-left corner from Dorgu's throughball three minutes after the restart – the goal standing despite initially being ruled out for offside.

Bart Verbruggen twice denied Dorgu either side of parrying Amad's stinging drive, and Lenny Yoro hit the crossbar late on, as Brighton dropped to eighth and settled for a spot in next season's Conference League, having started the day with a slim chance of reaching the Champions League.

Data Debrief: Fernandes stands alone

Fernandes had already drawn level with Premier League greats Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, but with 21 assists he now stands alone for the most in a single campaign.

The Portugal ace, who was voted Premier League Player of the Season this week, also finishes with a league-high 136 chances created.

Indeed, four of those were created in a brilliant performance here, while he provided 18 passes into the final third.

The Red Devils skipper has now also both scored and assisted in 19 Premier League games for United – only Wayne Rooney (35) and Ryan Giggs (22) have done so more often.