Man Utd suffered a 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford in the fifth round of the Premier League. Goals from Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross, and Joao Pedro left some United fans heading home early.
After five Premier League matches, Man Utd is in 13th place with just 6 points. While the players have not performed well, the blame also falls on manager Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag was criticized after the match
The former Ajax coach made several poor decisions that led to Man Utd defeat against Brighton. Here are three decisions made by Ten Hag that contributed to the loss:
Using McTominay, switching to a diamond midfield: When Antony and Sancho were unavailable, Ten Hag decided to adjust the starting lineup, opting for a diamond midfield formation. In this setup, McTominay and Christian Eriksen played as wide midfielders.
Man Utd’s diamond midfield is not working effectively.
It was evident that Brighton’s players often easily bypassed McTominay and Eriksen. United’s midfielders struggled to keep up with Brighton’s attacks, which resulted in all three goals conceded.
It would have been more sensible for Ten Hag to stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation and include Facundo Pellistri on the right-wing from the start.
Substituting Hojlund with Martial: Rasmus Hojlund had a decent debut and even had a goal disallowed by VAR. Hojlund posed a constant threat and displayed a high work rate in the attacking third.
Hojlund was replaced when he was playing very well.
When Brighton was leading 2-0, Ten Hag surprisingly substituted the young forward with Anthony Martial in the 64th minute. Martial’s performance was lackluster, and his introduction was met with criticism from the fans.
Martial failed to make a positive impact during his time on the pitch, and Hojlund’s energy and threat were missed.
Late introduction of Garnacho: Alejandro Garnacho has made important contributions after coming on as a substitute in previous seasons. He nearly scored against Arsenal just before the international break.
However, Ten Hag waited until the 85th minute to bring Garnacho on in this match. Five minutes were insufficient for the Argentine player to provide the inspiration needed for a Man Utd comeback.
Garnacho should have been on the field sooner.
If Ten Hag felt the need to substitute Hojlund due to fitness concerns, Garnacho should have been the natural choice to replace the Danish striker instead of Martial.
In summary, Erik ten Hag’s tactical decisions, including changing the formation, substituting key players at questionable times, and delaying substitutions, played a role in Manchester United’s defeat to Brighton. The team’s performance and management need improvement as they aim to climb the Premier League table.
