Brighton 3-2 Manchester United: Four Things We Learned

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Manchester United maybe started decently against Leicester City, but their 3-2 loss at Brighton showed everything that was bad about this side, from the players on the pitch performing horrendously, to the manager and his lack of solutions. Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba were in the end not enough to secure a point away from home, as Chris Hughton’s team once again managed to beat United on their turf.

Everything About United Was Appalling

Just the simple glance at the scoreline at half-time was enough to know how terrible United have played in those opening 45 minutes. Brighton had a 3-1 lead by the time players went to refresh themselves and in the second half, the Devils never looked like coming back. There were mistakes galore, as Man United players were far from the needed standards and there were no real solutions from any of the players or the manager.

In the second half, United had just one shot on target (late penalty excluded) and that one came from distance. There was nothing truly being created and overall poor performance resulted in a resounding loss.

Horrible Defensive Performance

Man United started with Bailly and Lindelöf as centre-backs and while they were good in the opening match of the season, here they looked like lost children, unsure what they were supposed to do in front of all those people in the stadium. The fact that they were both signed during Jose Mourinho’s time for a total of around 70 million pounds tells the story. Last season, Bailly had some really good spells, but it is hard even explaining how insecure and nervous he looked today.

Ashley Young and Luke Shaw were also non-existent at full-back positions. They did not bring anything to the team attacking-wise, while defensively were also making some mistakes fans do not expect to see at this level.

Brighton Could Still Improve

It may sound funny, but Brighton still have the potential to become a better team than in the opening two matches. Against Watford they were quite poor and lacking any imagination, while against United they showed the spirit to see the match off without much trouble after earning a big lead in the first half.

Only Martin Montoya started the match of all of their summer signings. Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Florin Andone, Yves Bissouma and Bernardo are yet to bring improvements once they settle in completely.

Faults Lay With Everyone

After such a poor match from United, it would be wrong to point fingers only at one place. The faults lay with the players, the manager and the boardroom. The attitude of players did not seem right throughout the match and they almost felt like giving up in second half. Jose Mourinho sure does not have a perfect squad, but is far away from getting the best out of players he has good. After all, five players that started the match were signed during his time at the club.

The board made many mistakes too, especially in the past transfer window, but now the time is to limit the damage. This all felt like the Man United of last season and that is not good.