Man United: Ten Hag must now walk away from ‘inexplicable’ flop after Brighton nightmare
Manchester United were outclassed by Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester United are a club in serious crisis as deep-seated problems continue to emerge on and off the pitch. The latest of which saw Antony banished from the team and joining Jadon Sancho in the mischievous move.
On the pitch, United failed to get back up despite the setbacks, as a 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford added to Erik ten Hag’s woes.
After two defeats in their opening four Premier League games, it was necessary to address how these performances were delivered on the training pitch, with the international break acting as a timely intervention, allowing his team to feel rested, regroup and face your shortcomings to work. .
Although in the early stages against Brighton it looked like the Dutchman had worked his magic on the training pitch, starting quickly from the blocks, any enthusiasm was quickly dispelled as the Seagulls pounced on their opponent’s mental frailty and took an early lead with former players. United man Danny Welbeck. After taking the lead, Roberto De Zerbi’s side began to bring their attacking prowess into play as Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro in the second half secured them a fourth consecutive victory against United. Journalist Samuel Luckhurst called their performance a “total crisis”.
Certainly, several contributed to this crisis, including Lisandro Martinez, who set the tone for a disastrous performance and failed to match last season’s form in which his teammate Luke Shaw, before his injury, described him in as an “absolute monster”. “.
The Argentinian suffered from his lack of sharpness and was terrified of Brighton’s wire attack. He won only one of his ground duels, was tackled once, intercepted once and was dispossessed four times, according to Sofascore.
Martinez wasn’t the only one to let his manager down that day, as Scott McTominay failed to capitalize on his chance to impress in midfield and delivered an unforgettable performance.
How did Scott McTominay perform against Brighton? Once labeled ‘special’ by former manager Jose Mourinho, Scott McTominay’s stock has fallen dramatically since that admission was made, and although he is a hero for his country – he scored a brace against Spain in March – the Scotland international rarely gets the chance to do so. start for his club
With Ten Hag moving to a narrow formation, playing three central midfielders to give Bruno Fernandes more positional freedom in the final third, McTominay was given the opportunity to start on the right of United’s three midfielders, alongside to Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.
Although this system allowed Marcus Rashford to move from his central position to the left channel and support Rasmus Hojlund, their attempts to control possession and attack more were thwarted by the explosiveness of Brighton’s counterattack. Roberto De Zerbi’s side opened up the defence, exploiting Ten Hag’s narrow system and easily overcoming the three loose midfielders while McTominay endured a torrid afternoon.
Although Ten Hag once labeled the Scot as someone who “never gives up”, this display contradicted that comment as the 6ft 8in dud was non-existent throughout, easily escaped possession and failed to make enter the ball into the field. highlighting his weakness in ball possession
This is evident from the fact that McTominay’s 22 touches were far fewer than Andre Onana’s 47, with three turnovers, just one interception and zero tackles.
That said, Luckhurst labeled his performance as “inexplicable”, which couldn’t be closer to the truth and as Roy Keane stated at the start of last season: if United are serious about challenging for the top of the Premier League in the future , McTominay will never be good enough in trying to achieve that goal. With that statement probably still ringing in the Scot’s ears, Ten Hag needs to heed that advice and leave him out of the team next time.
Man United: Ten Hag now pursues Rasmus Hojlund’s former teammate
Erik Ten Hag is now looking for one of Hojlund’s former teammates to strengthen his squad at Old Trafford
Manchester United have reportedly checked on one of Rasmus Hojlund’s former teammates during the international break and have a good idea of what he would offer in a transfer.
What’s new at Manchester United? According to The Guardian, Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho has been ousted from the Old Trafford first team and will train outside of the senior team at Old Trafford after refusing to respond to his public rebuttal of criticism from Erik Ten Hag to apologize for his accomplishments. in the formation.
Sancho has since deleted his statement on social media platform X, which read: “Please don’t believe everything you read! I believe there are other reasons for this problem that I will not go into. I have been the scapegoat for a long time, which is not fair!
However, it now appears his future at the club is uncertain. According to the Manchester Evening News, Sancho is ready to leave the club in January and some of those close to him believe it might be in his best interests to seek a new challenge elsewhere. His former club Borussia Dortmund and Premier League club Nottingham Forest have been mentioned as possible destinations.
Ahead of the Red Devils’ home game against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, manager Ten Hag confirmed that Lisandro Martinez would be available for selection following his injury against Arsenal before the international break.
Raphael Varane and Mason Mount making good progress in their recovery from injury problems; However, both are not ready to take part in the duel this weekend.
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