Man United vs Brighton

Will Erik ten Hag begin life at Old Trafford with a Premier League win? Join Rob Smyth to find out.

50 min Rashford has a shot blocked; then United appeal for handball against Lallana in the area. 57 min It’s getting a bit tetchy, at least on the United side. 48 min: Chance for Welbeck! It could be 3-0 to Brighton. Trossard lofts a cross towards Welbeck, who gets in front of Martinez at the near post and heads wide from eight yards. 54 min Martinez shoves Welbeck over in the area, a challenge so needless it’s almost weird. 60 min Sanchez makes a brilliant save from Rashford! The flag went up subsequently, but I’m not sure it was offside. 65 min Ronaldo releases Dalot on the right, but his cutback is wtretched. Dalot cuts inside from the left (yep) and hits a fairly routine shot that is spilled by Sanchez. Happily for him, it falls to Lallana rather than a United player. 66 min “I’ve not seen a crucial decision bottled like that at Old Trafford since the heyday of Alex Ferguson,” says Thomas Atkins on the Martinez/Welbeck challenge in the 54th minute. The corner leads a goal! 76 min Martinez whistles a long-range shot just over the bar. It’s a deserved victory against a disjointed, desperate United side who showed Erik ten Hag the size of the task ahead. He smashes a cross-shot that is brilliantly blocked by the stretching Dunk!

The Dutch manager's tenure at Old Trafford got off to a poor start with a 2–1 loss.

The offside flag was up against Ronaldo, but replays hinted he had stayed onside. United continued to push forward but never came close to an equalizer as Brighton held on for a first win at Old Trafford in the club’s history. United looked vulnerable in defense—with Pascal Gross scoring twice in the first half to put Brighton in control—and toothless in attack until Cristiano Ronaldo came on early in the second half.

Manchester United have started the Erik ten Hag era with a defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford. Pascal Gross scored twice for Brighton ...

However, that was as good as it got for Man United in the first half. In Ronaldo's absence, Man United played without a centre-forward in a fluid 3-4-3 formation. United pulled a goal back in the second half and pushed hard for an equaliser, but couldn't find the finishing touch. Gross scored his second goal and doubled Brighton's lead after 37 minutes. Ten Hag, who handed debuts to Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen, opted to put the Portugal captain on the bench as the forward had played just 45 minutes in pre-season. Man United v Brighton: First half.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion - Old Trafford Ronaldo came off the bench but couldn't help United win (Photo: ...

Danny Welbeck – An obvious focal point for the Brighton attack, Welbeck lost his footing when played in early on and might have done better when Caicedo dropped a cross on his head. Leandro Trossard – Harried hard and played the key pass in behind to open up United for the first goal. Solly March – Typically hard-working performance and made his presence felt at both ends. Lewis Dunk – Imperious in the air and growing as a distributor. Robert Sanchez – Had nothing to do for nearly an hour and then brilliantly denied Rashford one-on-one. Christian Eriksen – Got his feet a little tangled in the box when a speedy counter-attack ended with a chance to strike at goal. Scott McTominay – Was perhaps lucky only to see yellow for a follow-through that caught Caicedo high on the shin, but even that hampered him in in his inability to shut down counter-attacks. Was very lucky not to have a penalty given against him for a push on Welbeck too. Still developing an understanding with Martinez that at present seems non-existent. Harry Maguire – Was a little caught out by Welbeck’s run in behind, which eventually left United overloaded at the back post. Debutant Eriksen started as a “false nine” before Ten Hag threw Ronaldo on just seven minutes into the second half. It was no less than Brighton deserved although the two-goal advantage they ended up with at the break perhaps flattered them a little.