Jonathan Wilson on a poor start for United
That’s it for today’s coverage. I’ll leave you with Jamie Jackson’s report from Old Trafford - night!
Graham Potter’s verdict
“Great performance, delighted with the boys and it’s a nice start for us. It’s not easy [losing Bissouma and Cucurella] but we’ve got a good, ambitious group. Guys want to their best. They’re not perfect but they give their best.
“We’re enjoying what is an historic win for us. The way we did it was good, but it’s only three points.”
West Ham v Man City kicks off at 4.30pm.
Daniel Harris is your man for that one.
Pascal Gross speaks
We can’t ask for much more: three points away to Manchester United in their first home game. It’s a big win for us today.
I don’t know [why I score so many against United]. I would love to score more goals against other teams.
I think we played really well. The gameplan was really good; we stuck to it and we were clinical in front of goal.
“The future may still be bright for this United team,” says Peter Oh, “but the present is Brighton’s.”
They were so impressive. It’s a sign of their development under Graham Potter that they outclassed (an admittedly poor) United at Old Trafford, and it wasn’t remotely surprising.
“On the one hand, a manager like Ten Hag will take a while to get his team playing in his preferred style,” says Kári Tulinius. “On the other, that his first reaction at being behind was bringing on Ronaldo doesn’t augur well for his resourcefulness.”
He was, to be fair, the only striker on the bench. I still worry about ten Hag’s ability to deal with the scrutiny and the circus, but he’s a top-class coach. If he’s given time, peace and quiet – and that’s an elephantine if – he’ll succeed.
Updated
Erik ten Hag applauds the home fans as he walks down the tunnel. It’s one game; let’s not get carried away. But maybe we should start getting carried away when we talk about Brighton, who pound for pound might be the most impressive, admirable team in the Premier League. They lost two of their best players in the summer, and they have just serenely outplayed Manchester United at Old Trafford. We started the day talking about Erik ten Hag; we should finish it by raving about Graham Potter.
Full time: Manchester United 1-2 Brighton
Peep peep! Brighton have won at Old Trafford for the first time in their history! It’s a deserved victory against a disjointed, desperate United side who showed Erik ten Hag the size of the task ahead.
Pascal Gross scored both goals in the first half, continuing his exceptional record against United. But pretty much all Brighton’s outfield players were excellent, and Danny Welbeck and Moises Caicedo were outstanding.
Updated
90+5 min Danny Welbeck is replaced by Deniz Undav.
90+3 min United can’t get the ball off Brighton.
90+1 min Lamptey slips Malacia, who responds with a petulant and pointless foul.
Updated
90+1 min Five minutes of added time. Brighton bring on Levi Colwill for Solly March.
Updated
90 min A triple change for Man Utd: Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Elanga replace Sancho, Fernandes and Shaw.
Updated
89 min Brighton are a few minutes away from their first ever win at Old Trafford.
87 min The corner falls kindly for Martinez beyond the far post. He smashes a cross-shot that is brilliantly blocked by the stretching Dunk!
87 min A clever header from van de Beek, who has been lively, finds Sancho. He slides the ball across to Ronaldo, whose first-time shot from the edge of the area hits Webster and spins behind for a corner.
Updated
83 min Sancho, found neatly by van de Beek, slips Mac Allister in the area but is calmly dispossessed by Webster.
Updated
83 min After an extended spell of possession for Brighton, a long-range drive from Mac Allister swerves a few yards wide. De Gea had it covered.
82 min After a hairy spell after Mac Allister’s own goal, Brighton have started to calm the game down again. There’s an admirable equilbrium to their football.
81 min “Danny Welbeck has had a very good game,” says Adam Roberts, “but van Gaal said when he got rid that he didn’t score enough goals and took some brickbats for it. He wasn’t wrong though, was he?”
No, but even Gerd Muller would have struggled to score 15 a season in van Gaal’s United team.
79 min Fernandes is caught in the face by Mac Allister’s elbow. The referee gives a foul but nothing else. Jamie Carragher says “it doesn’t look good”, but we haven’t seen a replay and VAR aren’t getting involved.
Updated
78 min: United substitution Donny van de Beek replaces Scott McTominay.
77 min “Why are Brighton parking the bus?” says Mary Waltz. “They are a better squad, they should press their advantage.”
Human nature is a strange old thing.
76 min Martinez whistles a long-range shot just over the bar. It was a decent effort, though Sanchez had it covered.
75 min: Double substitution for Brighton Tariq Lamptey and Enock Mwepu replace Lallana and Trossard, who were both excellent. That probably means a switch back to 3-4-2-1.
74 min Sancho plays in the underlapping McTominay, whose cross is well blocked by the sliding Dunk. It might have been March actually; either way it was good defending.
73 min For the first time since the opening 10 minutes, United are pinning Brighton back. 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.
72 min Sancho runs at March to win another corner for United. Shaw’s inswinger is headed away by March. Just before that there was apparently a half chance for Maguire from a corner, though I didn’t see it so I can’t tell you what happened. You’re welcome.
71 min Who knew Alexis Mac Allister would play the Sivebaek role for Erik ten Hag?
Updated
VAR check I think they’re now checking for offside against Maguire, who challenged Sanchez. But the goal is given.
Updated
What a farcical goal. Sanchez missed his punch, and the ball hit Dalot a couple of times. It was bouncing towards goal, possibly off Dalot’s arm, when Sanchez pushed the ball against Mac Allister and into the net. Had Sanchez left it, Mac Allister would have cleared it comfortably.
There’s a VAR check against Dalot for handball, but he didn’t score so it shouldn’t matter.
Updated
GOAL! Man Utd 1-2 Brighton (Mac Allister og 68)
The corner leads a goal! Brighton want a foul on the keeper, though it has been given on the field.
Updated
67 min Eriksen’s deflected long-range drive is pawed away by Sanchez, who saw it late, and Veltman does well to get in front of Ronaldo and poke the loose ball behind for a corner.
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. “I can sympathise with a ref being scared of having to face Roy Keane, Jaap Stam and Ferguson himself after giving a decision, but if a referee is scared of Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay they need to rethink their career choices.”
Updated
65 min Ronaldo releases Dalot on the right, but his cutback is wtretched. Moments later, Fernandes’s deep cross is volleyed over on the stretch by Rashford. It wasn’t the easiest chance, especially on his left foot, but it was a chance.
64 min I forgot to say that Brighton have switched to a back four, with March at left-back and Veltman on the right.
63 min Gross’s corner leads to a short game of head tennis before Martinez heads clear.
62 min The impressive Trossard runs at Dalot to win a corner for Brighton.
60 min Sanchez makes a brilliant save from Rashford! The flag went up subsequently, but I’m not sure it was offside. Ronaldo broke down the right and played a perfect low pass across to Rashford. He hammered a first-time shot from about 10 yards, but Sanchez spread himself and blocked with his left hand.
Updated
57 min It’s getting a bit tetchy, at least on the United side. Don’t be surprised if one of the Ms on a booking - McTominay, Martinez, Maguire - end up getting sent off.
55 min “Given the nature of the goals scored, and the scorer,” begins Suleiman Merchant, “is anyone else recalling 1997’s John Cusack classic - Grosse Point Blank?”
That’s literally my second favourite film of all time. If only he spelt his name differently.
54 min Martinez shoves Welbeck over in the area, a challenge so needless it’s almost weird. No penalty is given, and VAR have already completed their check. Hmm. “It’s 100 per cent a penalty,” says Jamie Carragher on Sky.
Updated
53 min: United substitution Cristiano Ronaldo replaces Fred, which means Eriksen is now playing as the No6.
Updated
52 min Rashford shifts the ball away from Veltman and lashes a shot into the side netting with his left foot. There’s a bit of aggro off the ball between Maguire and Trossard. I think they’ve both been booked.
Updated
52 min Someone’s getting stripped off in the United dugout, and it’s not James Garner.
Updated
50 min Rashford has a shot blocked; then United appeal for handball against Lallana in the area. Nothing given, and the VAR check is complete. It deflected off his body onto his outstretched arm.
United’s tempo has been better since half-time.
49 min At the other end, a dangerous cross from Eriksen just evades the stretching Rashford at the far post.
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. That all stemmed from Welbeck winning the ball high up the field.
47 min A lively enough start to the second half from United. Fernandes plays a good reverse pass to Shaw, whose cross is headed away at the near post.
46 min Peep peep! Manchester United begin the second half. No substitutions yet.
“As one of the hordes deriving immense enjoyment from the quagmire Manchester United has become, I’m having a good morning,” says Eric Peterson. “But I can’t help but wonder, what if Ronaldo comes off the bench, scores a hat trick and salvages a win? What better way to make the inevitably necessary removal of CR7’s toxic impact on the club even more complicated? Yep, playing the long game here.”
32% of Pascal Gross' PL goals have been against Man Utd (6 of 19) - Gross has scored once every 112 minutes against Man Utd & once every 809 minutes against other PL opponents#MUNBHA pic.twitter.com/49mMyVed7i
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) August 7, 2022
“Shaw had a role to play in both goals,” says Michael Moore. “Wasn’t aware of Gross coming in behind him for the first, and didn’t do enough to challenge March on his shot which led to the second.”
I’d bring Malacia on now. I’ve never really understood the fuss about Shaw. He had one season when he was really good; that’s about it. Ultimately he’s not good enough at either end of the pitch.
Updated
The verdict emanating from Roy Keane’s beard
“Fragile... I’d question the personality in the team ... out of possession they look so open it’s untrue ... Brighton have been excellent ... the new manager will need time ... the two in the middle of the park, all over the place ... out of possession they’re as poor as any team in the Premier League”
Updated
Half-time reading
Updated
“I’m not really looking forward to Graham Potter’s ultimately disappointing 18 months in charge at Old Trafford after he gets appointed in November…” says Matt Emerson.
He really is a fantastic coach. He could be England manager by January.
Updated
Half time: Man Utd 0-2 Brighton
The soap opera is back. United are booed off (!) after an increasingly miserable first 45 minutes under Erik ten Hag. Bruno Fernandes missed a sitter early on, but Brighton were the smoother team and Pascal Gross finished off a couple of precise, penetrative moves. Brighton have been terrific; United have been a bit last season.
Boos all around Old Trafford at half-time 😳
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 7, 2022
Not the start Erik ten Hag wanted... pic.twitter.com/VO1pxjMwrO
Updated
45+1 min Martinez is robbed by Welbeck, then pulls back March and is booked.
45 min Two minutes of added time.
45 min Shaw’s shot on the turn from a very tight angle is comfortably saved by Sanchez. Moments earlier Dalot’s cross found Eriksen, whose backheel across the six-yard box was booted clear.
42 min Enough about United. Let’s give credit to Brighton, who have been fantastic: brave and stylish, with their passing like clockwork.
Updated
Pascal Gross gets his second after a brilliant team move! It started by the corner flag on the Brighton left, from where they worked the ball precisely down the field and then across to March on the right side of the area. He cut inside Shaw and drove a low shot that was pushed back into a dangerous area by the possibly unsighted de Gea. Fred was slow to react and Gross got there first to crash the ball into the roof of the net.
Updated
GOAL! Man Utd 0-2 Pascal Gross (Gross 39)
Well I never!
Updated
38 min “As a Stoke supporter I saw plenty of Arnautovic and when he was on he was really electric,” says Joshua Reynolds. “He was just fun to watch and it’s satisfying to chant ‘Arnie! Arnie! Arnie!’. However, I think he fit in best as the big fish in the little pond.”
Insert your own punchline here.
37 min Lallana’s cross on the turn is volleyed wide from 12 yards by Welbeck, who got in front of Maguire at the near post. He’s been excellent, a real pest to Maguire and Martinez.
35 min “You’re going down with the Palace” is the current song emanating from the away end. On Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher has been full of praise for Brighton’s adventurous tactics - the wing-backs, March and especially Trossard, are playing very high up the field, while their four central midfielders are smothering United.
Fred tries his luck from 30 yards, and instantly regrets it.
33 min Welcome to Manchester.
It’s been coming. Welbeck made a good run behind Maguire, onto a lovely angled pass from Trossard, and then sidefooted the ball across the six-yard box. It evaded Lallana in the middle but Gross arrived at the back post to sidefoot the ball nonchalantly into the net. There was a VAR check for offside against Welbeck - it was very tight, but the goal stands.
Updated
GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Brighton (Gross 30)
Pascal Gross scores against Manchester United again!
Updated
30 min “Good morning Rob, Good morning everyone,” says Adam Roberts. “Watching the pre-match interview, it struck me that United couldn’t get Pep so went for someone who resembles him.”
As a proud member of the bald community, I resent that.
29 min The resulting corner is headed over by Dunk, under pressure from Shaw. That was half a chance.
28 min Mac Allister’s long-range shot hits Eriksen and spins over the bar for a Brighotn corner.
27 min Caicedo is on his feet and looks fine, which is a pleasant surprise. McTominay overran the ball, then charged into an old-fashioned tackle. He won the ball but followed through onto Caicedo’s ankle. He could have been sent off for that - I suspect VAR would have stuck with the original decision whether it had been a yellow or a red card.
Updated
26 min “I really hope it’s not bad,” says Jamie Carragher on Sky. I fear it might be. It’s been checked by VAR, and the yellow card stands.
25 min Caicedo is down and in a lot of pain after a block tackle from McTominay, who has been booked. This looks pretty unpleasant.
23 min A really good break from United. Sancho pings a flat pass across the field to Fernandes, who moves forward and plays in Eriksen to his left. He stumbles slightly and then shoots tamely at Sanchez from a tight angle.
23 min Eriksen is back as the No9 now. But at the moment Brighton are the better side. Trossard combines nicely on the left of the area with Caicedo, who lofts a cross towards Welbeck. His header is blocked by Martinez.
22 min Erik ten Hag uses the word “brave” quite a lot when discussing his philosophy. So far, United have been a bit safe and a bit slow.
Has Erik ten Hag taken this tem as far as he can?
20 min Caicedo’s inswinging cross from the left is headed wide by the backpedalling Welbeck. A half chance at best, but it was a really nice build-up from Brighton.
20 min Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes have swapped places for a while.
19 min I didn’t think I’d be saying this after 19 minutes of the opening game, but United are missing Anthony Martial.
Updated
18 min Brighton are having a good spell, and there are the first groans from the home fans when a pass from de Gea goes straight out of play.
15 min Gross slides a dangerous pass down the inside-right channel to Welbeck. The sliding Martinez can’t intercept, but then Welbeck stumbles and that allows a couple of other United defenders to come across and clear the danger. Brighton have had two or three promising openings.
14 min Caicedo’s shot from 20 yards is blocked by Maguire. Brighton look relaxed and confident on the ball, even if they hadn’t had much of it.
12 min A graphic on Sky Sports show that United have had 80 per cent of the possession so far. That’s slightly surprising - it has felt closer to 60/40.
10 min McTominay has been quite advanced for United, whose shape is closer to 4-1-4-1 than the expected 4-2-3-1. He’s in the Georgia Stanway role, with Fred playing Keira Walsh.
Updated
9 min Fred gives the ball straight to Trossard on the edge of the United area, but redeems himself with an important, if desperate tackle. It’s been a bright enough start at both ends.
7 min: Fernandes misses a great chance! United should be ahead. It was a nice move, with Sancho poking a lovely pass into the area for McTominay. His shot was blocked and ricocheted towards the unmarked Fernandes, 15 yards out. He leathered it into orbit.
5 min “Far be it for me to argue with accepted logic but didn’t United give up like 60 goals last year...” says Jason Graff. “Not sure that has much to do with Ronaldo and would seem to be a slightly bigger problem.”
Nobody said Ronaldo was the only problem.
4 min Maguire arrows a nice crossfield pass out to Rashford on the left. He cuts inside, uses the overlapping Shaw by not using him and then tries to thread a pass into the area. It’s cut out by Caicedo.
2 min Brighton are playing with Caicedo and Mac Allister as the deeper central midfielders. Lallana and Gross are behind Welbeck.
Updated
Trossard hits the side netting after 15 seconds! Dalot dithered on the ball and was robbed by Trossard, who ran after the loose ball and shinned it into the side netting from a tight angle. De Gea had it covered.
1 min Peep peep! After the players on both sides take a knee, Adam Lallana gets the match under way.
An impassive Erik ten Hag walks out of the tunnel, waves to all corners of the ground and then high-fives Fred the Red. And why not. Godspeed, Erik.
“A penny for the thoughts of van de Beek,” says Yash Gupta, “who isn’t even preferred by his old manager now and has got an additional player to compete for a place in the team.”
I haven’t a clue what’s happened there. Plenty of folk saying he was never that good in the first place, but I’m not having that.
With ten minutes to kick off, let’s have a reminder of the teams
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) de Gea; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Eriksen.
Substitutes: Heaton, Malacia, Varane, Wan-Bissaka, Garner, van de Beek, Elanga, Garnacho, Ronaldo.
Brighton & Hove Albion (possible 3-4-2-1) Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; March, Mac Allister, Caicedo, Trossard; Gross, Lallana; Welbeck.
Substitutes: Steele, Lamptey, Colwill, van Hecke, Mwepu, Mitoma, Undav, Maupay, Sarmiento.
Referee Paul Tierney.
Updated
“Marko Arnautovic is the perfect signing,” writes Arsenal supporter Neill Brown. “I can’t think of a player more suited to one of Roy Keane’s ‘You can do that at other clubs but this is Manchester United’ post-game rants.”
Christian Eriksen will play as a false nine today. Erik ten Hag has just confirmed as much in his pre-match interview.
[Ronaldo] is working really hard to get to the right fitness levels. It will take time – he only started pre-season last week. He will do everything to get there as soon as possible.
The striker will be Christian Eriksen; he has done it before and will play that role. I want us to be together, as a team – it’s the most important thing, every game.
It’s a tough opponent. They play decent football and can play different systems. I really like them.
Updated
On-the-nose mood music
“Hoping for a better start for Erik ten Hag, so far he has handled the media well,” says Sandeep from India. “One thing if I want to call out for Red Devils around the world then it’s this: we need to have patience. Past glory is obscuring present chaos, coupled with crap recruitment and board-level indecisiveness.
“If we want good football then we need to stick to Erik with a lot of patience; there is no overnight glory in football. Give him the power to bulldoze over the problems, even if that first problem is Ronaldo. Hoping Erik stamps his authority on this evolution.”
I mean, I agree with everything you say. But have you heard of this thing Twitter?
United to sign Arnautovic?
I’ll level with you: I didn’t see this coming. My instinct is that it’s quite a clever idea in the circumstances, though I’d want to think about it some more before dispensing judgement on a popular internet forum.
Updated
“That’s an interesting line-up by Graham Potter,” says Kári Tulinius. “I tend to think Brighton play better with Maupay in the side, but Welbeck is certainly a better finisher. I’ll admit that the existence of Moisés Caicedo had completely passed me by, to the point that when I saw his name on the team sheet I thought I had missed that his namesake Felipe had signed for the Seagulls.”
I think Caicedo was coveted by a few clubs, including Man Utd. I know what you mean, though – Brighton have the happy habit of signing unknown players who are really bloody good.
“Hi Rob,” says Ian Copestake. “Does the bench Ronaldo is on have weights, a squat rack and a power cage?”
No, but you can still order Big Macs on Deliveroo. They’ll deliver to the dugout.
The teams in (possible) formation
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) de Gea; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Eriksen.
Substitutes: Heaton, Malacia, Varane, Wan-Bissaka, Garner, van de Beek, Elanga, Garnacho, Ronaldo.
Brighton & Hove Albion (3-4-2-1) Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; March, Lallana, Caicedo, Trossard; Gross, Mac Allister; Welbeck.
Substitutes: Steele, Lamptey, Colwill, van Hecke, Mwepu, Mitoma, Undav, Maupay, Sarmiento.
Referee Paul Tierney.
Updated
Team news: Ronaldo on the bench
With Anthony Martial injured, Erik ten Hag has preferred Christian Eriksen to Cristiano Ronaldo. That means
either Marcus Rashford or, more likely, Bruno Fernandes
Christn Eriksen will play up front.
Lisandro Martinez also makes his debut, while Tyrell Malacia is on the bench. There are no new signings in the Brighton XI, but Levi Colwill and Deniz Undav are among the subs.
Confirmed: today's United line-up ✔#MUFC || #MUNBHA
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 7, 2022
TEAM. 💙 Here's our first starting XI of the 22/23 season! 📝
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 7, 2022
📲 https://t.co/S3j1TIedJv // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/bb72NpFWce
Updated
Last time out against @ManUtd... 👀💭 pic.twitter.com/nNlHhYonTX
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 7, 2022
On Ronaldo
Two pieces, one conclusion: get rid.
The new season is nearly upon us and United Writing is back. @TimdeLisle shows that what looks like a headache for #ErikTenHag is actually a godsend https://t.co/xKIqDZlzCB
— United Writing (@united_writing) August 4, 2022
The team news will drop shortly, and I suppose all eyes will be on the role of this fella. D’you reckon he ever fancies a Big Mac? Apparently you can even get them delivered these days.
HARD WORK 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/NBxQI0TuL6
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) July 14, 2022
Updated
“Don’t look back, look forward”
I don’t know about you, because you won’t return my calls, but I’m a fan of Erik ten Hag’s jib. (And yes, I appreciate the same was true of Louis van Gaal and Ralf Rangnick.)
Updated
Season preview: Manchester United
Season preview: Brighton
They’ve lost two of their better players, Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella, but the club is so well run that nobody is seriously worried about how it will affect them. In many ways they’re a model club - the antithesis of United.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to a new season of English football’s most addictive soap opera. Some brilliant new characters have been introduced to Manchester United, but the audience are getting a bit bored of recurring storylines about laboured recruitment and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Enough of that increasingly tortuous metaphor, at least until they sign up to All or Nothing. Welcome to Manchester United v Brighton, Erik ten Hag’s first proper game as United manager. He’s the fifth man to take the job full time since Sir Alex Ferguson implored everyone to stick by United’s new manager nine years ago, and his first pre-season has been a mixed bag.
On the field, it was gently encouraging. They scored some lovely, Ajaxy goals, and a few of last season’s underachievers looked reinvigorated. Off it, through no particular fault of ten Hag’s, it’s still a circus. This is one of his biggest challenges: in an age when – and how this shames us all – what happens off the field is often more important than what takes place on it, he needs to restore primacy to the actual football.
Everything points to ten Hag being a top-class coach, so he should have the football covered. It’ll take time, though – last season, United’s worst since 1988-89, will be lurking in the players’ subconscious, waiting to emerge faster than you can say “here we go again”. A year ago they were dreaming of the title; in 2022-23, fourth place is the promised land.
Such negativity feels inappropriate, on today of all days, but the mood around the club remains pretty febrile. The easiest way to change it, now and forever, is to play good football and win games. If United do that, ten Hag will be fine. If not, the soap opera will get even trashier.
Kick off 2pm.
Updated
