Old weaknesses came back to haunt Man United in the late defeat at Brighton

BRIGHTON, England — For all the talk of a reset under Erik ten Hoag, there was an eerie sense of inevitability and familiarity about Manchester United’s 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on the soggy south coast on Saturday.

Defensively United were very porous and although they pointed to an unfortunate disallowed goal, they managed to clear themselves. Joao Pedro Left unmarked at the back post to head home the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time. It will put horror in perspective in the post-match analysis when the team returns to Carrington.

Aspects of this performance looked like a step forward for Ten Hoag 2.0. A summer later, he was given a vote of confidence and license to rebuild his backroom staff with four new signings (so far) in what he promised was the season we’ve seen at United and hinted at since he took over. fee. But United’s loss to Brighton was an error that has been seen before and should now be expunged.

For both of Brighton’s goals, United players were caught off guard. The first, in the 32nd minute, saw Harry Maguire And Nowsair Masraoui Couldn’t stop a cross from Pedro, and couldn’t cut a ball into the six-yard box Kauru myoma. It allowed Danny Welbeck Knock home from close range against the club where he started his career.

For the victor, Pedro could stand with one hand raised and begging Simon Adingra To head the ball as masraoui, Matthijs de Ligt And Lisandro Martinez They were caught watching the ball. Pedro, in acres of space, had all the time in the world to bow and shake his head as he passed the ball Andre Onana. It was far, far too easy.

At that point United were already self-sabotaging their own winner. They entered the game again AmatHe massively deflected an equalizer in the 60th minute and then they looked to grab a second through the substitute 10 minutes later. Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentina international beat the goalkeeper Jason Steele And the goal is scored but the ball hits the knee offside Joshua Zirksy Just before it crossed the line, VAR duly intervened and disallowed it.

United thought they were going to get away with it these days, but sloppy errors, poor communication and wasted chances fueled another performance.

Den Haag was „very disappointed” and said his team needed to be more aggressive in both defense and attack.

„I think we did the right things for the most part,” Ten Haag said after the match. „For the most part we’ve won — when we’ve won trophies, we’ve won other big games where we’ve taken points.

„It should have been better on this occasion today. In the Community Shield [1-1 draw vs. Manchester City] We should have been better. We’ve done well in situations where we’ve been outscored on a number of occasions.”

Despite talk that this is the season United have bared their teeth, they are still trying to find some. Among the summer’s signings, Masrouai is the straight-forward on the right-hand side. In Brighton’s opening round win at Everton, he was mostly effective against the more dangerous Mitoma. Zirkzy was used as a substitute twice — first in the 87th minute in a 1–0 win over Fulham, where he was introduced at half-time. Mason MtA switch that saw Fernandes move back into the No.10 position.

They looked more dangerous and found more scratch in this combination, with Fernandes the wrong no. 9 It’s time to put the experiment back in its box. That served them well at the end of last season, leading to two Premier League wins and an FA Cup final victory over Man City, but Fernandez’s particular role has been a difficult second season. With Fernandez back behind Zirksy, the skipper looked more comfortable and that should have given Carnacho the winner he sent over to Boston.

De Ligt has been given a soft start at the heart of United’s defence, coming off the bench against Fulham and Brighton. De Ligt replaced Maguire for the final 10 minutes in both matches, so for all the England internationals’ lung-busting efforts, De Ligt is the long-term solution. However, De Ligt was on hand when Pedro was given the freedom of United’s penalty area to net the winner.

Brighton found space several times for comfort in the United box. Martinez has also been below his usual high standards, so it remains to be seen how Ten Hock uses de Ligt and the 18-year-old. Lenny Yoro As he returns from a fractured metatarsal.

United’s display of form is serious enough to bring in the defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain before Friday’s transfer deadline to provide young legs in central midfield. Ugarte, 23, should be a more mobile option for the 32-year-old Casemiro. As shown Billy GilmourHeavily linked with Napoli, Amex had a run and was excellent in the middle of the field for Brighton. He found the time and poise to pick apart United’s defense amid the pressing din.

As for Brighton, they look set to hit the box office under former St Pauly boss Fabian Herzeler. Much 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 fantastic to watch and they attack with no fuss.

Pedro excels in this set-up, finding the ball from deep and running at scrambling defences, while Mitoma and Minde are both excellent wingers. Brighton still have a number of players to consolidate, such as club-record signings Georginio Rutter Introduced from the bench. Matt O’Reilly (Celtic) and Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahçe) is likely to come their way in the coming days.

Brighton’s spending this summer could pass £200m and Herzeler has produced a combination that has led them to two wins. They are extremely ambitious and are going to be a strong side.

There is still business to be done at Old Trafford. Will United find the right combination while in the midst of this tumble-dryer start to the season?

United have six days left in the transfer window to establish which players move past Ugarte. Jadon Sancho Again not in the match day squad Scott McTominay Was a second-half substitute amid links with Fulham and Napoli. Den Haag host Liverpool on September 1 and it feels like that game is coming soon enough for his new-look United essay to be completed. Ten Hoag needs time, but that’s a luxury he doesn’t have with limited credit at the bank.