Old habits die hard and United’s ability to concede late on is something that is still very much alive. Without Brighton doing much, they found themselves ahead as Welbeck got a tap in after some poor defending from United to let the two crosses in. Outside of that, United were the better team but that was simply because the Seagulls were poor. The second half, Brighton were better yet United got back level through some good play from Amad that was deflected in. Both teams went for the winner and United would have thought they found it but Zirkzee was in an offside position when his knee was struck on the line from Garnacho’s shot. It meant that the game was still level and Joao Pedro found himself in oceans of space to nod in the actual winner.

Toothless

Such was the lack of defensive prowess that United showed individually and tactically, that a lot of people didn’t look at the fact that Man Utd once again failed to break the 60 goal mark in the league last season. It was the third season in a row that they had achieved this unfortunate feat. You see why when you watched the team perform for the vast majority of proceedings.

What the 4-4-2 with the false 9s has given us in terms of defensive structure, it doesn’t replicate with the offensive threat. Mount and Bruno are two of the better pressers in the league in attacking players. Bruno was 5th in the league for possession won in the attacking third last season and Mount has regularly found his way into teams under different managers simply because of his ability to press the ball in a good way. However, when the team does have possession, you see the awkward fit that both have when they have to fill in the central striking position. Neither have the nous and perhaps the capability to know when to stretch the play or run the channels. Often times, they come short and this tightens the structure which means that the play often has to be precise to pick their way through. The best chance of the first half fell to Amad but that came from a long kick off Onana and Dalot have to chase his own flick before the latter delivered in one of the best crosses on a weaker foot that you will ever see. The Ivorian should have at least got the effort on target.

Wings Flying Low

He and Rashford were often missing the mark in the first half in all their actions. The former was actually poorest in the offensive actions that he is usually most reliable at – his retention was off, he was not passing forward nor was he aggressive with his take-ons. Again, United were focusing much of their play down the left so Amad was getting little of the play but the little he did get in that half was not good by any stretch of the imagination. Rashford got more but like last week and last season, the flattering to deceive was much of what was on offer. His decline in his 1v1 play has been utterly frustrating. Before, you would see the English winger pick up the ball and think there’s a 50/50 chance of him beating his man. That ratio has jumped all the way down to an unsightly 5/95. It is becoming a minor miracle watching Rashford beat his man and he is offering little else with his productivity. Amad crossed well for a chance that Rashford bundled in but he had gotten off the mark too sharp and was offside.

There was hope for Amad in the second half at least. Not just with his goal, that did rely on a heavy deflection to go in, but his play was much much better. For the chalked off goal, he played the game perfectly for Bruno’s overlap and if not for Zirkzee’s outstretched knee, United would have gone ahead. In truth, it was a really poor finish from Garnacho that he even directed the ball close enough to Zirkzee that he would get in the way. It reminded me of his finish against Aston Villa in December 2023 but there was no player in the way but it snuck in at the far post just rather than going wide. His ball striking, in consistency, leaves a lot to be desired. But this is the problem when you live on the edge as we do when you do not create chances at a high rate. You are relying on a few moments and asking not to be stung by yet it has happened again as Joao Pedro put us to the sword.




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