It was supposed to be the start of a bright new era - but just 45 minutes into Erik ten Hag’s era at Manchester United, boos rained down from the Old Trafford stands.
Ten Hag had enjoyed a hugely positive pre-season, having been appointed on the back of the club’s worst ever Premier League season. Although he has only brought in two players, throughout the summer there had been signs that the current crop of underperforming stars were adapting to his style.
However, within minutes of his first competitive match in charge, that cautious optimism was quickly replaced with frustration. Brighton ’s 4-0 demolition job was one of the low points of lasr season and the opening day represented the perfect chance to show how far they had come since May.
But it quickly became apparent that the Seagulls - brilliantly drilled by Graham Potter were a taller task than anyone anticipated. Former United striker Danny Welbeck got beyond the hosts’ last line on several occasions, but the warning wasn’t heeded.
After an aimless ball forward from David de Gea, Brighton won possession and played in Welbeck on the left-hand side of the box, who in turn found Pascal Gross to tap into an empty net in the 30th minute.
And before Ten Hag had a chance to make any changes it was two, with Gross again on hand to stroke the ball into the net for his second before the break.
And as the visitors stroked the ball around effortlessly and the whistle went for the break, the home players were roundly booed down the tunnel after yet another miserable top-flight showing.
The stats didn’t make for pretty reading either. Despite having more possession than the visitors their first half xG was only at 0.29 compared to Brighton’s at 1.31. Much of their struggles stemmed from being overran in midfield, with Fred, Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes losing the ball a whopping 25 times between them.
Much of the summer has been dominated by links with new midfield players, none more so than Barcelona ’s Frenkie de Jong. United bosses had hoped to get that deal completed well before the resumption of the new season, but talks are now at an impasse.
That meant the much-maligned partnership of Fred and McTominay were once again deployed. The ‘McFred’ duo became a lightning rod for criticism during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick’s respective tenures in the dugout.
But for all the talk of revolution under the new man in charge, it was that same axis which performed so departely below the standards required. On McTominay’s part, he was lucky to still be on the pitch by the time the first half came to a close, receiving just a yellow card for a heavy tackle on Moises Caicedo.
