Manchester United were rattled by high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion to a 1-3 defeat at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils started the game brightly, pressed with intensity, and tested Brighton’s defence.
The visitors weathered the early storm and dominated the rest of the game.
Former United striker Danny Welbeck scored the opening goal against the run of play.
Rasmus Hojlund thought he had brought the score to parity, but VAR stepped in to rule in favour of the Seagulls.
Second-half goals from Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro forced a few Man United supporters to exit the stadium early.
Hannibal Mejbri pulled one goal back. However, it was too late to spark a dream comeback for the Red Devils.
Here are the player ratings:
Andre Onana – 5/10
One clean sheet in five Premier League games for David De Gea’s successor. He should have done better for the third goal.
Goalkeeping is more than just playing out fine passes.
Diogo Dalot – 5/10
Surprisingly, the Portuguese was switched to the right flank of defence but did well to track trickster Kaoru Mitoma.
Victor Lindelof – 5/10
Far from a convincing performance from the Sweden international.
Lisandro Martinez – 4/10
Pascal Gross easily outsmarted him for Brighton’s second goal. No signs of the leadership he displayed last season.
Sergio Reguilon – 6/10
It was an impressive start to his afternoon but faded as the Seagulls’ grew into the game. He displayed the profile of an attacking full-back which Erik ten Hag desires.
Casemiro – 5/10
The former Real Madrid midfielder played great passes to release Rashford a couple of times. He went missing for Danny Welbeck’s goal.
Christian Eriksen – 5/10
The Dane performed a fine bit of skill early on to excite the crowd.
Just like Casemiro, he also failed to defend during transitions. It is too easy to run past him.
Scott McTominay – 4/10
He played for 85 minutes and managed to make only 15 passes. It would have been better if Pellistri was given a chance to start ahead of him.
Bruno Fernandes – 5/10
The United skipper was at the heart of some good moves but failed to rally his team.
He was switched to the right centre-back role to spray long balls forward in the last few minutes. Why would the team’s best creator play in the backline when the priority is to score goals?
Marcus Rashford – 6/10
The England international showed excellent skills and proved to be the most threatening attacker for United.
He must learn to pass rather than shoot, especially when the Red Devils have a proper striker upfront.
Rasmus Hojlund – 6/10
The 20-year-old put the ball into the back of the net, but only for VAR to rule out the goal. He lacked a bit of sharpness but looks like a player with huge potential.
Substitutes
Anthony Martial – 4/10
Another display from the Frenchman where he failed to get into the game. He did not justify Ten Hag’s decision to send him on the pitch in place of Hojlund just after the hour mark.
Hannibal Mejbri – 7/10
The youngster showed character when his teammates dropped their shoulders. He scored the only United goal to offer a glimmer of hope.
Alejandro Garnacho – N/A
Too late to rate.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – N/A
Too late to rate.
Facundo Pellistri – N/A
Too late to rate.
