Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has urged his side to "be happy with what we have achieved" after their place in the Conference League qualifiers was confirmed.

But despite securing European qualification, Brighton slumped to a 3-0 loss to Manchester United in Sunday's season finale at the Amex Stadium. 

Patrick Dorgu, Bryan Mbeumo and Premier League record-breaker Bruno Fernandes all got on the scoresheet to condemn Hurzeler's side to defeat, forcing them to settle for an eighth-place finish after they started the matchday with slim hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. 

The defeat extended a poor run-in record for the Seagulls, who have now lost six of their nine final Premier League games of the season (W3).  

Indeed, no team have more such defeats than Brighton since they entered the competition in 2017-18, though Burnley and Wolves have also lost six.

Hurzeler admitted his side were not up to scratch against United, but the German maintained that Brighton has nonetheless had a positive season. 

"We should be happy with what we've achieved."  pic.twitter.com/1w7KhjNsn2

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) May 24, 2026

"When you see the overall season we should be happy with what we achieved," Hurzeler told BBC Match of the Day. 

"We had a bad run, kept going, kept fighting and that was quite positive. 

"[Today] was the worst time for this performance from us, but we have to look at it overall in what we achieved.  We had a difficult season with lots of highs and lows, so to finish eighth is good.  

"We weren't good enough today or on our highest level today. Their first goal distracted us and we couldn't react well to the next goals. 

"We have to accept it but there is nothing to analyse now because the season is over."

Brighton's defeat, combined with Sunderland's win over Chelsea, meant the Black Cats surged into seventh place, securing Europa League qualification, in their first season back in the Premier League since 2016-17.