Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion began their Premier League campaigns on Sunday afternoon in what was the first game for the Red Devils under Erik ten Hag. Unfortunately for fans hoping to see a shift in momentum at Old Trafford, it wasn’t to be as Brighton pulled off their first ever win at the ground with a nice 2-1 victory.
Today, we’re going to take a look at the biggest takeaways we had from a fairly monumental game for the Seagulls.
Midfield troubles
For a few years now Manchester United fans have been banging the “McTominay and Fred do not work in midfield” drum, and they’re constantly proven right. From not tracking their man for conceded goals to outright giving away fouls that should’ve led to a red card, there are serious concerns about where this team is heading in the middle of the park – especially now they have one less option with Pogba gone.
The Potter way
Graham Potter started this game without any new signings in his starting XI and with a few of his biggest stars, most notably Bissouma and Cucurella, departing for new clubs in the summer transfer window. Yet even with that being the case, he managed to get his side to pull off one of the most impressive wins of the weekend with veterans like Lallana and Welbeck pulling the strings. That, in our view, is pretty impressive.
Same old United
Fans (rightly) protesting against the owners, the crowd not really giving their all, the players failing to live up to expectations, and Cristiano Ronaldo not being the saviour that everyone proclaims him to be. It was lather, rinse, repeat in Manchester on Saturday and it was certainly a big wake up call for Erik ten Hag. It’s the start of a new era, but there’s every chance it’ll go down the same route as his predecessors.
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