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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
BRIGHTON, England — For all the talk of a reset under Erik ten Hag, there was a sense of horrible inevitability and familiarity about Manchester United‘s 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on a sodden south coast on Saturday.
Defensively United were far too porous and though they will point to their unfortunate disallowed goal they managed to self-destruct as Joao Pedro was left unmarked at the back post to head home the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time. It will make for horror viewing in the postmatch analysis when the squad gets back to Carrington.
There were aspects of this performance which looked like a step forward for Ten Hag 2.0. After a summer where he was given a vote of confidence, and license to rebuild his backroom staff, alongside four new signings (so far), this was meant to be the season where we saw the United he’s been promising and pointing to since he took charge. But United lost to Brighton because of errors that have been seen before and should have been eliminated by now.
For both of Brighton’s goals, United left players unattended. The first, in the 32nd minute, saw Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui unable to stop a cross from Pedro, and fail to cut out a ball into the six-yard box from Kaoru Mitoma. That allowed Danny Welbeck to tap home from close range against the club where he started his career.
For the winner, Pedro could stand, one hand raised, begging for Simon Adingra to plant the ball onto his head as Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez were caught ball watching. Pedro, in acres of space, had all the time in the world to stoop and head the ball past André Onana. It was far, far too easy.
By that point United had already self-sabotaged for what could have been a winner of their own. They had got themselves back into the game through Amad‘s heavily deflected equaliser in the 60th minute, and then thought they’d grabbed a second 10 minutes later through substitute Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentina international’s shot beat goalkeeper Jason Steele and was goal-bound but the ball hit the knee of the offside Joshua Zirkzee just before it crossed the line, and the VAR rightly intervened to disallow it.
United thought they’d left these days behind them, but sloppy errors, poor communication and squandered opportunities dogged yet another performance.
Ten Hag was left “very disappointed” and said his team must be far more aggressive both in defence and attack.
“I think often we did the right things,” Ten Hag said after the match. “Often we had success — when we won trophies, and won other big games where we took the points.
“On this occasion today it should have been better. In the Community Shield [1-1 draw vs. Manchester City] we should’ve been better. On many occasions we have done well in situations where we’ve got the score over the line.”
Despite talk of this being the season where United bared their teeth, they’re still trying to find some bite. Of the summer signings, Mazrouai is the one who has slotted in straight away at right-back. He did well for the most part against Mitoma, who was so dangerous in Brighton’s opening round win at Everton. Zirkzee has been used twice as a substitute — first in their 1-0 win over Fulham where he scored a 87th-minute winner and here he was introduced at half-time for Mason Mount, a switch which saw Fernandes move back into the No. 10 position.
They looked far more dangerous and found more incision with this combination, suggesting it’s perhaps time to put the Fernandes false No. 9 experiment back into its box. It did serve them well at the end of last season, guiding them to two Premier League wins and the FA Cup final triumph over Man City, but that specific role for Fernandes is suffering a difficult second season. With Fernandes back behind Zirkzee, the captain looked far more comfortable and it was his pass to Garnacho which should have provided the potential winner.
De Ligt is being given a soft launch at the heart of United’s defence, coming off the bench against Fulham and Brighton. In both matches De Ligt replaced Maguire for the final 10 minutes, so for all the England international’s lung-busting efforts, De Ligt is the long-term solution at centre back. Yet De Ligt was on the field when Pedro was afforded the freedom of United’s penalty area to net the winner.
Brighton found space in the United box far too many times for comfort. Martinez, too, was short of his usual high standards, so it remains to be seen how Ten Hag uses De Ligt and 18-year-old Leny Yoro when he returns from his fractured metatarsal.
The performance also showed by United are desperate to bring in defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain before Friday’s transfer deadline to offer younger legs in central midfield. The 23-year-old Ugarte should be a more mobile option to the 32-year-old Casemiro. It showed as Billy Gilmour, linked heavily with Napoli, had the run of the Amex, and was outstanding in the middle of the field for Brighton. Amid the pressing pandemonium, he found time and poise to unpick United’s defence.
For Brighton, they look like they are going to be box office under former St. Pauli boss Fabian Hürzeler. A lot has been made of his age — at 31 he’s the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history — but his aggressive 4-2-4 formation is wonderful to watch, and they are unapologetically attacking.
Pedro works brilliantly in this system, finding the ball from deep and running at scrambled defences, while Mitoma and Minteh are both outstanding wingers. Brighton still have a host of other players to integrate, such as club-record signing Georginio Rutter who made his debut from the bench. Matt O’Riley (Celtic) and Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahçe) are also likely to be on their way in the coming days.
Brighton’s outlay this summer could pass £200 million and Hürzeler has forged a cohesion which has guided them to two wins from two. They are fiercely ambitious and are going to be a formidable side.
There’s still business to be done at Old Trafford, too. Will United find the right mix while they are in the midst of this tumble-dryer of a start to the season?
United have six days left of the transfer window to get Ugarte across the line and establish which players are leaving. Jadon Sancho was again not in the matchday squad while Scott McTominay was a second-half substitute amid links with Fulham and Napoli. Ten Hag hosts Liverpool on Sept. 1, and it feels like that game is going to come too soon for his new-look United to be the finished article. Ten Hag needs time, but that’s a luxury he doesn’t have with limited credit in the bank.