Twitter explodes as Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United suffer 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Brighton 

Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo endured one of their most embarrassing defeats of the season on Saturday against Brighton in the Premier League. The visitors failed to turn up for the encounter and were completely outplayed during the 4-0 hammering at the Amex Stadium.

Ralf Rangnick named an unchanged line-up after the Red Devils' 3-0 triumph over Brentford in the previous game. However, Manchester United were a shadow of themselves from that outing and were unaplogetically put to the sword by an excellent Brighton side.

Cristiano Ronaldo remained a hapless passenger for the majority of the game as the hosts produced one of their finest ever displays in the top-flight.

Moises Caicedo opened the scoring for Brighton as early as the 15th minute. The 20-year-old Ecuadorian fired a low shot from distance that went through Victor Lindelof's legs before nestling into the corner, beyond David De Gea's reach.

The home crowd were in raptures as the Seagulls soared high in joy. Brighton could have doubled their advantage before half-time after a catastrophic error from Raphael Varane. The Frenchman attempted to bring the ball down with his touch off a Brighton goal-kick, but eventually laid it on a plate for Danny Welbeck.

The former Manchester United forward was unable to capitalize and flashed his attempt over the cross-bar. Cristiano Ronaldo's frustration was clearly visible when he picked up a yellow card for a silly challenge before the interval.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United reduced to being spectators as Brighton turn on the style

If the first-half display was poor, the second half was truly shocking from Manchester United. They were picked apart so easily by an efficient Brighton attack.

Leandro Trossard squared the ball towards Marc Cucurella after collecting the ball from the byline and the left-back smashed his shot into the back of the net. The Spaniard shed tears of joy as he netted his first ever goal for the club, much to the agony of the hapless Red Devils.

Cucurella then turned provider for the third goal of the night. Brighton shot-stopper Robert Sanchez, who hardly had any shots to stop, found the full-back with an excellent long kick. Cucurella drifted inside and neatly found Trossard, who produced a precise pass for Pascal Gross. The Dutchman produced a neat finish towards the far corner after evading Varane.

Trossard then completed the rout in the 60th minute after Welbeck chipped the ball over De Gea. Although Diogo Dalot cleared it off the line, the ball ricocheted off Trossard before going over the line. VAR intervened to check for handball but the goal stood and Brighton were ecstatic.

Cristiano Ronaldo looked away and his Manchester United teammates knew there was no hiding from this result. Here's how Twitter reacted to the game:

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