Romelu Lukaku hopes Manchester United bounce back post UEFA Champions League exit

Manchester: Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku believes the club can overcome the disappointment of their Champions League failure by responding with an FA Cup quarter-final victory at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

United suffered a shock Round of 16 exit at the hands of Sevilla after substitute Wissam Ben Yedder struck twice at Old Trafford on Tuesday to seal a 2-1 victory for the Spaniards after the teams drew 0-0 in the first leg.

“It is difficult for us,” Lukaku told the club website (www.manutd.com). “But we have to bounce back. We have one trophy to chase and that is the FA Cup.

“We wanted to go far in the Champions League, that is what a club like Manchester United needs to do and we didn’t do it so we are disappointed.

“We should have done much better. With the quality that we have in the team, I think that we should have gone through. But we didn’t deserve it because we were not good enough.”

Chris Hughton’s Brighton also come into the game on the back of a defeat, having lost 2-0 at Everton last weekend.

The south-coast club are playing a quarter-final in the competition for the first time since 1986 as the sides face a rematch of their final showdown three years earlier, won by Manchester United after a replay.

United are second in the Premier League on 65 points, 16 points behind champions-elect Manchester City and the FA Cup represents their last realistic shot at a trophy this season.